End-Stage Renal Disease
End-stage renal disease, also called end-stage kidney disease or kidney failure, occurs when chronic kidney disease — the gradual loss of kidney function — reaches an advanced state. In end-stage renal disease, your kidneys no longer 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 abilities, 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 can also choose to opt for conservative care to manage your symptoms — aiming for the best quality of life during your remaining time.
Early in chronic kidney disease, you might 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
- Changes in how much you urinate
- Chest pain, if fluid builds up around the lining of the heart
- Shortness of breath, if fluid builds up in the lungs
- Swelling of feet and ankles
- High blood pressure (hypertension) that’s difficult to control
- Headaches
- Difficulty sleeping
- Decreased mental sharpness
- Muscle twitches and cramps
- Persistent itching
- Metallic taste
Signs and symptoms of kidney disease are often nonspecific, meaning they can also be caused by other illnesses. Because your kidneys can make up for lost function, signs and symptoms might not appear until irreversible damage has occurred.
When to seek care
Make an appointment with your health care provider if you have signs or symptoms of kidney disease.
If you have a medical condition that increases your risk of kidney disease, your care provider is likely to monitor your kidney function with urine and blood tests and your blood pressure during regular office visits. Ask your provider whether these tests are necessary for you.
Kidney disease occurs when a disease or condition impairs kidney function, causing kidney damage to worsen over several months or years. For some people, kidney damage can continue to progress even after the underlying condition is resolved.
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 or other inherited kidney diseases
- 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)
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
- High blood pressure
- Tobacco use
- Black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander or American Indian heritage
- Family history of kidney failure
- Older age
- Frequent use of medications that could be damaging to the kidney
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 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
- Malnutrition
- Irreversible damage to your kidneys (end-stage kidney disease), eventually requiring either dialysis or a kidney transplant for survival
If you have kidney disease, you may be able to slow its progress by making healthy lifestyle choices:
- Achieve and maintain a healthy weight
- Be active most days
- Limit protein and eat a balanced diet of nutritious, low-sodium foods
- Control your blood pressure
- Take your medications as prescribed
- Have your cholesterol levels checked every year
- Control your blood sugar level
- Don’t smoke or use tobacco products
- Get regular checkups
To diagnose end-stage renal disease, your health care provider may ask you about your family’s and your medical history. You may also have physical and neurological exams, along with other tests such as:
- Blood tests, to measure the amount of waste products, such as creatinine and urea, in your blood
- Urine tests, to check the level of the protein albumin in your urine
- Imaging tests, such as ultrasound, MRI or CT scan, to assess your kidneys and look for unusual areas
- Removing a sample of kidney tissue (biopsy), to examine under a microscope to learn what type of kidney disease you have and how much damage there is
Certain tests might be repeated over time to help your provider follow the progress of your kidney disease.
Stages of kidney disease
There are five stages of kidney disease. To determine what stage you have, your health care provider performs a blood test to check your glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The GFR measures how much blood the kidneys filter each minute, recorded as milliliters per minute (mL/min). As the GFR declines, so does your kidney function.
When your kidneys no longer work at a level that’s necessary to keep you alive, you have end-stage renal disease. End-stage renal disease usually occurs when kidney function is less than 15% of typical kidney function.
As a part of kidney disease staging, your provider also might test whether you have protein in your urine.
| Kidney disease stage | GFR, mL/min | Kidney function | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source: National Kidney Foundation | |||
| Stage 1 | 90 or above | Healthy kidney function | |
| Stage 2 | 60 to 89 | Mild loss of kidney function | |
| Stage 3a | 45 to 59 | Mild to moderate loss of kidney function | |
| Stage 3b | 30 to 44 | Moderate to severe loss of kidney function | |
| Stage 4 | 15 to 29 | Severe loss of kidney function | |
| Stage 5 | |||
End-stage renal disease treatments include:
- Kidney transplant
- Dialysis
- Supportive care
Kidney transplant
A kidney transplant is a surgical procedure to place a healthy kidney from a live or deceased donor into a person whose kidneys no longer function properly. A kidney transplant is often the treatment of choice for end-stage renal disease, compared with a lifetime on dialysis.
The kidney transplant process takes time. It involves finding a donor, living or deceased, whose kidney best matches your own. You then have surgery to place the new kidney in your lower abdomen and attach the blood vessels and ureter — the tube that links the kidney to the bladder — that will allow the new kidney to function.
You may need to spend several days to a week in the hospital. After leaving the hospital, you can expect frequent checkups to monitor your progress as your recovery continues. You may take a number of medications to help keep your immune system from rejecting your new kidney and to reduce the risk of post-surgery complications, such as infection.
After a successful kidney transplant, your new kidney filters your blood, and you no longer need dialysis.
Dialysis
Dialysis does some of the work of your kidneys when your kidneys can’t do it themselves. This includes removing extra fluids and waste products from your blood, restoring electrolyte levels, and helping control your blood pressure.
Dialysis options include peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis.
Palliative care
If you choose not to have a kidney transplant or dialysis, you can choose palliative or supportive care to help you manage your symptoms and feel better. You also can combine palliative care with kidney transplant or dialysis.
Without either dialysis or a transplant, kidney failure progresses, eventually leading to death. Death can occur quickly or take months or years. Supportive care might include management of symptoms, measures to keep you comfortable and end-of-life planning.
References
- Goldman L, et al., eds. Chronic kidney disease. In: Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 26th ed. Elsevier; 2020. http://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed April 27, 2021.
- Chronic kidney disease (CKD). National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/kidney-disease/chronic-kidney-disease-ckd#:~:text=Chronic%20kidney%20disease%20(CKD)%20means,family%20history%20of%20kidney%20failure. Accessed April 26, 2021.
- Rosenberg M. Overview of the management of chronic kidney disease in adults. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed April 26, 2021.
- Chronic kidney disease. Merck Manual Professional Version. https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/genitourinary-disorders/chronic-kidney-disease/chronic-kidney-disease?query=Chronic%20kidney%20disease. Accessed April 26, 2021.
- Office of Patient Education. Chronic kidney disease treatment options. Mayo Clinic; 2020.
- Are you at increased risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD)? National Kidney Foundation. https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/atriskckd. Accessed May 25, 2021.
- Warner KJ. Allscripts EPSi. Mayo Clinic. April 12, 2021.
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