Kidney disease

Damage to or disease of a kidney
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Medical condition
Kidney disease
Other namesRenal disease, nephropathy
Pathologic kidney specimen showing marked pallor of the cortex, contrasting to the darker areas of surviving medullary tissue. The patient died with acute kidney injury.
SpecialtyNephrology, urology Edit this on Wikidata
ComplicationsUremia, death

Kidney disease, or renal disease, technically referred to as nephropathy, is damage to or disease of a kidney. Nephritis is an inflammatory kidney disease and has several types according to the location of the inflammation. Inflammation can be diagnosed by blood tests. Nephrosis is non-inflammatory kidney disease. Nephritis and nephrosis can give rise to nephritic syndrome and nephrotic syndrome respectively. Kidney disease usually causes a loss of kidney function to some degree and can result in kidney failure, the complete loss of kidney function. Kidney failure is known as the end-stage of kidney disease, where dialysis or a kidney transplant is the only treatment option.

Chronic kidney disease is defined as prolonged kidney abnormalities (functional and/or structural in nature) that last for more than three months.[1] Acute kidney disease is now termed acute kidney injury and is marked by the sudden reduction in kidney function over seven days. In 2007, about one in eight Americans had chronic kidney disease.[2] This rate is increasing over time[1] to where about 1 in 7 Americans are estimated to have CKD as of 2021.[3]

Causes

Deaths due to kidney diseases per million persons in 2012
  16–61
  62–79
  80–88
  89–95
  96–110
  111–120
  121–135
  136–160
  161–186
  187–343