PYELONEPHRITIS - CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT

What is pyelonephritis?

Urinary tract infection is any infectious condition that affects one or more parts of the urinary tract, formed by the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra.

Low urinary infections are those that affect the bladder and/or urethra. High urinary infections occur when there is involvement of at least one of the kidneys.

• The bladder infection is called cystitis.
• Urethral infection is called urethritis.
• The infection in the kidneys is called pyelonephritis.

Pyelonephritis is a bacterial infection of one or both kidneys. Kidney infection is a potentially serious case, since we are talking about the infection of a vital organ. It is a picture that can have severity similar to pneumonia.

If not treated on time and correctly, pyelonephritis can lead to sepsis and multiple organ failure. Fortunately, the vast majority of cases respond well to the arsenal of commercially available antibiotics. The cases that evolve in a negative way are those that take to receive the treatment or when the patient is already too weakened by other diseases, warns nephrologist in Delhi.

Pyelonephritis is a frequent cause of scar formation in the kidneys and can lead to a partial loss of renal function, especially in patients who have recurrent infections.

Causes

According to the best nephrologist in Delhi, kidney infection occurs in two ways. The main route is the ascending one, when the bladder bacteria reach the ureters and can go up to the kidneys. This typically occurs in untreated or improperly treated cystitis.

Less frequently, asymptomatic colonization of the bladder by bacteria can also be the source of a kidney infection. In these cases, the patient has bacteria in his bladder, but shows no symptoms, because the germs are only colonizing it, without attacking it. Therefore, not all people report symptoms of cystitis before the arrival of pyelonephritis, explains kidney specialist in Delhi.

The second mode of infection of the kidneys is by blood, when a bacterium that is causing an infection somewhere in the body travels through the bloodstream and lodges in the kidney. This route is much less frequent than the ascending route.

In addition to cystitis, which is the main risk factor, there are other situations that may increase the risk of kidney infection. We can cite the use of bladder catheters, urological surgeries, renal calculus, anatomical abnormalities of the urinary tract and diseases of the prostate that cause obstruction of urine flow.

Patients with a weak immune system, such as diabetics, renal failure, cirrhosis, carriers of the HIV virus or patients taking immunosuppressive medications, have a higher risk of developing cystitis that evolves for pyelonephritis, says nephrologist in Gurgaon.

Symptom

Typical symptoms of pyelonephritis are fever, low back pain, nausea, vomiting, and general condition. There may also be symptoms of cystitis, such as painful urination and desire to go to the bathroom frequently, even when the bladder is empty. Another common sign is the presence of blood in the urine (hematuria), which normally occurs as a Coca-Cola colored urine, explains kidney specialist in Gurgaon.

Pyelonephritis is divided clinically into 3 categories:

• Acute uncomplicated pyelonephritis.
• Acute complicated pyelonephritis.
• Chronic pyelonephritis

Complications

As already mentioned, if pyelonephritis is not treated properly with antibiotics, there is a high risk of progression for severe sepsis. Bacteria present in the kidney can easily reach the bloodstream, spreading throughout the body and causing multiorgan failure, warns nephrologist in Noida.

Another problem of pyelonephritis, especially if recurrent, is permanent kidney damage. Patients with chronic pyelonephritis may develop with end-stage renal failure and need hemodialysis in Delhi.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of renal infection is usually made only with clinical symptoms. Laboratory tests help confirm the diagnosis. The blood count typically has an elevated white blood cell count and the CRP is elevated. In urine tests, pus (leukocytes in the urine) and blood (red blood cells in urine) are common.

The urine culture should always be requested since it is able to identify the bacterium causing pyelonephritis, helping in the choice of appropriate antibiotics. However, since the urine culture takes at least 48 hours to stay early, we should not wait for its result to start antibiotic treatment. After leaving the results, the kidney specialist in Noida decides to keep the initial antibiotic or changes to a more effective one.

Treatment

In general, pyelonephritis treatment is performed in the hospital with intravenous antibiotics. If the patient is in good health and is still in good condition, he can receive the first dose intravenously and then complete the rest of the home treatment with oral antibiotics. In most cases, however, the patient is well disabled and two or three days of hospitalization end up being necessary to control the infection.

In patients with chronic pyelonephritis, urologist evaluation is necessary. Often, the patient must undergo surgery in order to correct the anatomical abnormalities of the urinary system that are perpetuating a kidney infection.

According to the top nephrologist in Delhi, Pyelonephritis is not a contagious disease, so there is no risk of contamination of relatives or close people.

Pyelonephritis should always be treated with antibiotics. Medications called “natural” can provide temporary relief, but only postpone the proper treatment of the infection, causing risks for the patient.