nephritis

Acute Nephritis. This occurs most frequently in children and young people and seems to strike those who have recently suffered from sore throat, scarlet fever, and other infections caused by streptococci; it is believed to originate as an immune response on the part of the kidney. An attack may produce no symptoms, but more often there are headaches, a rundown feeling, back pain, and perhaps slight fever. The urine may look smoky, bloody, or wine-colored. Analysis of the urine shows the presence of erythrocytes, albumin, and casts. Another symptom is edema of the face or ankles, more common in the morning than in the evening. The blood pressure usually rises during acute nephritis, and in severe cases hypertension may be accompanied by convulsions.

Treatment consists chiefly of bed rest and a carefully controlled diet. Penicillin is often used if an earlier streptococcal infection is still lingering. Recovery is usually complete. In a small percentage of cases, however, acute nephritis resists complete cure. It may subside for a time and then become active again, or it may develop into chronic nephritis. Dialysis may be indicated in patients with fluid overload that is refractory to diuretics, or who become clinically uremic.

Chronic Nephritis. Chronic nephritis may follow a case of acute nephritis immediately or it may develop after a long interval during which no symptoms have been present. Many cases of chronic nephritis occur in people who have never had the acute form of the disease. Symptoms are often unpredictable and variable from case to case, but there is almost always steady, progressive, permanent damage to the kidneys.

Chronic nephritis generally moves through three stages. In the first stage, the latent stage, there are few outward symptoms. There may be slight malaise, but often the only indication of the disease is the presence of albumin and other abnormal substances in the urine. If a blood count is made during this stage, anemia may be found. There is no special treatment during the latent stage of chronic nephritis. The patient can live a normal life but should avoid extremes of fatigue and exposure and should eat a well balanced diet.

The first stage may be followed by a second stage, in which edema occurs in the face, legs, or arms. The main treatment in this stage consists of a low-protein, low-sodium diet and diuretics. Steroid hormones may be helpful.

At the final stage of chronic nephritis is end-stage renal disease. Treatments are kidney transplant and dialysis. At any stage of chronic nephritis it is particularly important to avoid other infections, which will aggravate the condition.

There is no known cure for chronic nephritis, although the progress of the disease can be delayed, so that the patient can live an almost normal life for years. Many patients are being helped by repeated purification of their uremic blood by hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis, or by transplantation.