End-stage renal disease, also called end-stage kidney disease, occurs when chronic kidney disease — the gradual loss of kidney function — reaches an advanced state. In end-stage renal disease, your kidneys are no longer able to work as they should to meet your body’s needs.
Your kidneys filter wastes and excess fluids from your blood, which are then excreted in your urine. When your kidneys lose their filtering capabilities, dangerous levels of fluid, electrolytes and wastes can build up in your body.
With end-stage renal disease, you need dialysis or a kidney transplant to stay alive. But you may also choose to forgo dialysis or transplant and opt for conservative care to manage your symptoms — aiming for the best quality of life possible during your remaining time.
Symptoms
Early in chronic kidney disease, you may have no signs or symptoms. As chronic kidney disease progresses to end-stage renal disease, signs and symptoms might include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Fatigue and weakness
- Sleep problems
- Changes in how much you urinate
- Decreased mental sharpness
- Muscle twitches and cramps
- Swelling of feet and ankles
- Persistent itching
- Chest pain, if fluid builds up around the lining of the heart
- Shortness of breath, if fluid builds up in the lungs
- High blood pressure (hypertension) that’s difficult to control
Signs and symptoms of kidney disease are often nonspecific, meaning they can also be caused by other illnesses. Because your kidneys are highly adaptable and able to compensate for lost function, signs and symptoms may not appear until irreversible damage has occurred.
When to see a doctor
Make an appointment with your doctor if you have any signs or symptoms of kidney disease.
If you have a medical condition that increases your risk of kidney disease, your doctor is likely to monitor your blood pressure and kidney function with urine and blood tests during regular office visits. Ask your doctor whether these tests are necessary for you.
Causes
Kidney disease occurs when a disease or condition impairs kidney function, causing kidney damage to worsen over several months or years.
Diseases and conditions that can lead to kidney disease include:
- Type 1 or type 2 diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Glomerulonephritis (gloe-mer-u-low-nuh-FRY-tis), an inflammation of the kidney’s filtering units (glomeruli)
- Interstitial nephritis (in-tur-STISH-ul nuh-FRY-tis), an inflammation of the kidney’s tubules and surrounding structures
- Polycystic kidney disease
- Prolonged obstruction of the urinary tract, from conditions such as enlarged prostate, kidney stones and some cancers
- Vesicoureteral (ves-ih-koe-yoo-REE-tur-ul) reflux, a condition that causes urine to back up into your kidneys
- Recurrent kidney infection, also called pyelonephritis (pie-uh-low-nuh-FRY-tis)
Risk factors
Certain factors increase the risk that chronic kidney disease will progress more quickly to end-stage renal disease, including:
- Diabetes with poor blood sugar control
- Kidney disease that affects the glomeruli, the structures in the kidneys that filter wastes from the blood
- Polycystic kidney disease
- Kidney disease after a kidney transplant
- High blood pressure
- Tobacco use
- African-American descent
- Male sex
- Older age
- Lower level of kidney function when your doctor first begins regular measurements of kidney function
Complications
Kidney damage, once it occurs, can’t be reversed. Potential complications can affect almost any part of your body and can include:
- Fluid retention, which could lead to swelling in your arms and legs, high blood pressure, or fluid in your lungs (pulmonary edema)
- A sudden rise in potassium levels in your blood (hyperkalemia), which could impair your heart’s ability to function and may be life-threatening
- Heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease
- Weak bones and an increased risk of bone fractures
- Anemia
- Decreased sex drive, erectile dysfunction or reduced fertility
- Damage to your central nervous system, which can cause difficulty concentrating, personality changes or seizures
- Decreased immune response, which makes you more vulnerable to infection
- Pericarditis, an inflammation of the saclike membrane that envelops your heart (pericardium)
- Pregnancy complications that carry risks for the mother and the developing fetus
- Irreversible damage to your kidneys (end-stage kidney disease), eventually requiring either dialysis or a kidney transplant for survival
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