Understanding Renal Disorders

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to provide nurses with the knowledge to be able to assess, manage, and care for people with the renal disorders chronic kidney disease (CKD) and acute kidney injury (AKI) in an evidence-based and person-centred way. In recent years, AKI has replaced the term ‘acute renal failure’. The chapter will provide a comprehensive overview of the causes, risk factors, and impact of CKD and AKI, before exploring best practice to deliver care, as well as to prevent further progression of these conditions. Nursing assessments and priorities are highlighted throughout, and further nursing management of some of the symptoms and common health problems associated with CKD and AKI can be found in Chapters 6, 9, 15, and 19, respectively. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the gradual and usually permanent loss of some kidney function over time (Department of Health, 2007). In CKD, the damage and decline in renal function usually occurs over years, and in early stages can go undetected (Department of Health, 2005a). CKD has rapidly moved up the healthcare agenda in recent years, primarily because of the links with cardiovascular risk, and with a shift in focus away from the treatment of established renal failure towards the detection and prevention of CKD in primary care (O’Donohue, 2009). Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is an indicator of renal function and is the rate at which blood flows through, and is ‘filtered’ by, the kidney; a normal GFR is approximately 125 ml/min. CKD is classified into five stages according to an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and, in the milder stages, further evidence of renal damage such as proteinuria and haematuria. This classification holds regardless of the underlying cause of kidney damage. The understanding of GFR is pivotal to caring for patients with renal disorders. Monitoring, management, and referral of the patient in the earlier stages of CKD became much clearer following the publication of the National Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Adults with Chronic Kidney Disease in Primary and Secondary Care (NICE, 2008a). Many people with stage 3 CKD, unless they have proteinuria, diabetes, or other comorbidity such as cardiovascular disease, have a good prognosis and can be managed in primary care (Andrews, 2008).