Interstitial nephritis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| ICD-10 | N10.-N12. |
|---|---|
| ICD-9 | 580.89, 581.89, 582.89, 583.89 |
| DiseasesDB | 6854 |
| MedlinePlus | 000464 |
| eMedicine | med/1596 |
Interstitial nephritis (or Tubulo-interstitial nephritis) is a form of nephritis affecting the interstititum of the kidneys surrounding the tubules.
Common causes include infection, or reaction to medication (such as an analgesic or antibiotics.)
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The disease known as tubulointerstitial Nephritis is caused when the tissue between the filtering tubes in the kidney, called interstitial tissue is scarred. This disease can be either acute, which means it occurs suddenly or chronic, meaning it is ongoing and eventually ending in kidney failure. At times there are no symptoms of this disease, but when they do occur they are widely varied and can occur rapidly or gradually. When caused by an allergic reaction, the symptoms of acute tubulointerstitial nephritis are fever, rash, and enlarged kidneys. Some people experience sudden kidney failure or other symptoms like a fever, painful urination, and lower back pain. In chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis the patient can experience symptoms along the lines of nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and weight loss. Other conditions that may develop include hyperkalemia, which is very high levels of potassium in the blood, and acidosis which is high levels of acid in the blood.
This disease is caused by other diseases, toxins and drugs that do damage to the kidney. Both acute and chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis can be caused by a bacterial infection in the kidneys, known as pyelonephritis. The most common cause is by an allergic reaction to a drug. The drugs that are known to cause this sort of reaction are antibiotics such as penicillin, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin. The time between exposure to the drug and the development of acute tubulointerstitial nephritis can be anywhere from 5 days to 5 weeks. The kidneys are the only body system that is directly affected by tubulointerstitial nephritis. The kidneys function percentage is usually reduced, the kidneys can be just slightly dysfunctional, or experience kidney failure. In chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis the most serious long term effect is kidney failure. When the proximal tube is injured sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, uric acid, and phosphate intake may be reduced or changed, resulting in low bicarbonate, known as metabolic acidosis, low potassium, low uric acid known as hypouricemia, and low phosphate known as hypophosphatemia. Damage to the distal tubule is usually the cause of a loss of urine concentrating ability and an increase in daily urine volume, a condition known as polyuria. In most cases of acute tubulointerstitial nephritis, the function of the kidneys will return after the harmful drug is not taken anymore, or when the underlying disease is cured by treatment. If the illness is caused by an allergic reaction, a corticosteroid can speed up the recovery of the kidney’s function. Chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis has no cure. Many cases need a treatment called dialysis this is a process in which waste products are filtered from the blood for the kidneys. Eventually, a kidney transplant may be needed.
