Polycystic kidney disease Health Article

Symptoms

• Abdominal pain or tenderness
• Blood in the urine
• Excessive urination at night
• Flank pain on one or both sides

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease include the following:

• Drowsiness
• High blood pressure
• Joint pain
• Nail abnormalities
• Painful menstruation

Signs and tests

Examination may show high blood pressure, kidney or abdominal masses, abdominal tenderness over the liver, and enlarged liver.

There may be heart murmurs or other signs of aortic insufficiency or mitral insufficiency.

• A urinalysis may show urine protein or blood in the urine.
• A CBC may show decreased or increased RBCs and hematocrit.
• Cerebral angiography may show associated aneurysms.

Those with a personal or family history of PKD should be evaluated to determine if cerebal aneurysms are a cause of headaches.

Polycystic kidney disease and associated cysts on the liver or other organs may be detected with the following tests:

• Abdominal ultrasound
• Abdominal CT scan
• Abdominal MRI scan
• IVP

In a family with several members with PKD, genetic tests can be done to determine whether a person at risk carries the PKD gene.

Treatment

The goal of treatment is to control symptoms and prevent complications. High blood pressure may be difficult to control, but control of it is the most important aspect of treatment.

Treatment may include:

• Blood pressure medicines
• Diuretics
• Low-salt diet

Any urinary tract infection should be treated promptly with appropriate antibiotics.

Cysts that are painful, infected, bleeding, or causing an obstruction may need to be drained. (There are usually too many cysts to make removal a feasible alternative.)

Surgical removal of one or both kidneys may be required. Treatment of end-stage kidney disease may include kidney dialysis or kidney transplantation.

Support Groups

The stress of an illness can often be helped by joining a support group where members share common experiences and problems.

See: Kidney disease - support group