So what is kidney replacement therapy (KRT)? As the name suggests, it is the artificial form of removal of wastes and excess fluids from the body as a proxy for the kidneys. Who needs that? Patients with acute kidney injury (AKI), as well as any patient with end stage kidney disease (ESKD) or Chronic Kidney…
Author: lenaeder
(Almost) Everything You Wanted to Know about Hyper and Hypokalemia
Disturbances in serum potassium are frequently encountered on both the floors and exams, thus making it an important concept to not only be familiar with but also understand. In this post, I will describe the etiology, consequences, and management of potassium disturbances relevant for the medical student on wards and residents early in their training….
A Quick & High-Yield Breakdown of Nephritic Syndrome
Nephritic syndrome key characteristics Hypertension Hematuria, oliguria (symptoms you can see with your eyes) Disruption/inflammation of glomeruli! If bad enough, can lead to glomerular basement membrane rupture and rapid loss of kidney function. RBCs, WBCs, and RBC casts present on urine microscopy. Proteinuria can be anywhere from sub-nephrotic proteinuria to nephrotic proteinuria. Common (and testable)…
A Quick & High-Yield Breakdown of Nephrotic Syndrome
Nephrotic syndrome key characteristics Common findings include: Proteinuria (frothy urine) Hyperlipidemia Hypoalbuminemia Edema Results from injury and disruption of podocytes and their foot processes. When podocytes lose their foot processes their special structure or detach completely, there is exposed basement membrane and free filtration of albumin and other plasma proteins. Nephrotic range proteinuria is >3.5g…
A Quick Lesson on Minimal Change Disease
If you remember one thing about minimal change disease (MCD) from your preclinical courses, it’s probably that MCD is most commonly found in children. In fact, 70-90% of children with nephrotic syndrome are found to have MCD! In adults, this number is only around 10-15%. In this post, we’ll review the diagnosis of MCD with…
The Best Resources for your Med School Pre-Clinical Nephrology Years
If you’re like me, the first introduction to kidney physiology during the preclinical years of medical school can be overwhelming. Ions, transporters, RAAS; it all comes at you very fast. While lectures serve as a good starting point for framing this information, using supplemental resources can really help you hammer in the details. I have…
Nephrotic Syndrome Made Easy
Welcome to our nephrotic syndrome series! In this first post, you’ll find a general overview of the findings of nephrotic syndrome and how to approach diagnosis. Nephrotic syndrome is the constellation of signs and symptoms that arises when the glomerular filtration membrane is damaged and protein begins passing into the urine in large quantities. It…
An Intern’s Guide to AKI Work-up
Brought to you by the intern asking for the consult and the first year fellow responding! It’s intern year and you are working up another patient for an AKI. You have examined the patient and sent off some labs but do not yet have a satisfying explanation for your patient’s worsening kidney function. You and…
Let’s Take a Walk Through the Nephron
Kidney physiology can be a daunting topic. Don’t worry the Kidney Zone has you covering. Faculty Lead, John Roberts, has a video just for you. Below is a 30 min video that covers everything you need to know about the nephron. Take a look below. Tell us what you think.
12 Tips to Rock your Nephrology Rotation as a Medical Student
Here is my list of HONEST tips to help you become an outstanding medical student during your nephrology rotation! 1. Be on time: This might sound simple, but this is an easy way to get ahead in medical school. You don’t want your team searching for you at 9am! 2. Ask questions: You are on…
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