Symptoms, types and treatment of kidney hydronephrosis in children and adults
Kidney hydronephrosis is a pathology associated with the progression of the expansion of the calyx-pelvic area of the kidney. The reason for the development of hydronephrosis of the kidneys is a violation of the outflow of urine, which leads to a significant increase in hydrostatic pressure in the cups and pelvis.
Causes of kidney hydronephrosis
The disease can be congenital or acquired. Congenital hydronephrosis, the treatment of which will be carried out from early childhood, may have the following causes:
- abnormalities in the location of renal arteries and their branches;
- compression of the ureters;
- dyskinesia of the urinary tract;
- incorrect location of the ureter behind the vena cava;
- strictures, congenital urinary tract obstructions.
The reasons for the development of unilateral or bilateral hydronephrosis of the kidneys, the treatment of which can take a long time, can be:
- inflammatory diseases of the urinary system;
- injury of the spinal cord;
- benign and/or malignant tumors of the urinary tract, uterus, ovaries, and prostate gland;
- metastases in the retroperitoneal space;
- urolithiasis.
Doctors can diagnose hydronephrosis in the fetus - a specialist can recognize this pathology during an ultrasound examination of a pregnant woman. The treatment will be carried out after the birth of the child, but even during pregnancy, doctors can find out the reasons for the development of the pathology and predict possible complications during further treatment. Hydronephrosis of the kidney in the fetus, if there are no other abnormalities, is not an indication for termination of pregnancy.
Classification of hydronephrosis
The disease is classified as follows:
- 1st degree: there is a small accumulation of urine in the pelvis, the walls of this part of the kidney are slightly stretched - this is a compensated degree of hydronephrosis, during which the kidneys function within normal limits;
- hydronephrosis of the 2nd degree: the treatment will be difficult and long-term, because at this stage of the development of the disease, tissue thinning begins, and this leads to a decrease in the functionality of the diseased kidney by an average of 40%;
- 3rd degree of hydronephrosis: this stage is called terminal and is characterized by significant loss of functionality of the diseased kidney or its complete "shutdown".
Terminal hydronephrosis of the left kidney (as well as the right) leads to the fact that the urinary system does not cope with its duties, the patient may develop kidney failure. Such a development of the pathology is considered dangerous, in the absence of qualified medical assistance, there is a high probability of a fatal outcome.
Symptoms of hydronephrosis
There are no pronounced signs, often the pathology is asymptomatic. The only thing that the patient can pay attention to is a constant pain syndrome in the lumbar region, the pain can radiate to the abdomen. This pathology is often confused with others - for example, the diagnosis of hydronephrosis of the right kidney will be complicated by the fact that the patient's complaints are similar to symptoms during the progression of acute cholecystitis.
When the disease progresses, the patient also has general symptoms of body intoxication: increased body temperature, chills, nausea, increased blood pressure. Usually, this development of the clinical picture is associated with the attachment of an infection.
Kidney hydronephrosis during pregnancy or at the final stage of the disease can manifest as acute renal failure - the amount of urine excreted sharply decreases, the patient develops edema rapidly, followed by anemia and arterial hypertension.
How to treat kidney hydronephrosis in children, adult patients and during pregnancy
Treatment of hydronephrosis in children and adults is a complex of medical measures designed to improve the functioning of the affected kidney and compensate for the general condition of the patient. In each individual case, the doctor will select individual treatment measures - it is necessary to take into account the causes of the development of hydronephrosis, the degree of the disease, the general state of health of the patient, and concomitant pathologies of internal organs.
Conservative treatment
Most often, therapeutic treatment is used in the early stages of the pathology and is characterized by a symptomatic focus. For example, if hydronephrosis is diagnosed during pregnancy, then symptomatic treatment comes to the fore. But the use of conservative therapy is appropriate only if the pathology was diagnosed at the very beginning of its development and the functioning of the kidneys is not disturbed. You can read more about the schemes of therapeutic treatment of hydronephrosis of the kidneys on the pages of our website: Dobrobut.com.
Parents are often interested in how to treat hydronephrosis of the kidneys in children - it may be enough to take a course of antibacterial drugs, or decoctions of medicinal plants will help. In fact, only a doctor can answer this question. For example, antibiotics are used as part of conservative treatment if an infection was diagnosed along with hydronephrosis. The only prescriptions that could be classified as general are drugs to lower blood pressure, anti-inflammatories and pain relievers. In almost all cases, conservative therapy is prescribed before surgery for hydronephrosis of the kidneys in children and adults - this will help the body recover quickly.
Surgical treatment
In most cases, surgical treatment is carried out with the aim of preserving the organ and eliminating the cause of the disease, restoring kidney function. It is advisable to carry out surgical treatment at an early stage of the pathology - for example, surgery for congenital hydronephrosis in children has favorable consequences in 97%.
Surgical treatment consists in restoring the patency of the urinary tract, and if this type of treatment is carried out in the late stages of the pathology, then doctors perform plastic surgery of the pelvis and restoration of its dimensions.
If the doctor offers to undergo surgical treatment, do not refuse - at an early stage of the disease, the result of surgical intervention will be a full recovery. Doctors do not perform surgery for hydronephrosis of the kidney during pregnancy - the woman is hospitalized in a hospital, she is constantly monitored, and therapeutic support of the urinary tract is carried out.
This disease is particularly dangerous for the patient's health and life. Hydronephrosis of the kidney in the absence of treatment can lead to a fatal outcome, therefore it is important to diagnose the pathology in time and carry out competent treatment.
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