D|agnost|c rocedure for AkI

now |s rena| fa||ure d|agnosed?

ln addlLlon Lo a physlcal examlnaLlon and compleLe medlcal hlsLory your chllds physlclan may order Lhe followlng
dlagnosLlc LesLs
O |ood tests Lo deLermlne blood cell counLs elecLrolyLe levels and kldney funcLlon
O ur|ne tests
O chest xray a dlagnosLlc LesL LhaL uses lnvlslble elecLromagneLlc energy beams Lo produce lmages of
lnLernal Llssues bones and organs onLo fllm
O one scan a nuclear lmaglng meLhod Lo evaluaLe any degeneraLlve and/or arLhrlLlc changes ln Lhe [olnLs
Lo deLecL bone dlseases and Lumors Lo deLermlne Lhe cause of bone paln or lnflammaLlon
O rena| u|trasound (A|so ca||ed sonography) a nonlnvaslve LesL ln whlch a Lransducer ls passed over Lhe
kldney produclng sound waves whlch bounce off Lhe kldney LransmlLLlng a plcLure of Lhe organ on a
vldeo screen 1he LesL ls used Lo deLermlne Lhe slze and shape of Lhe kldney and Lo deLecL a mass kldney
sLone cysL or oLher obsLrucLlon or abnormallLles
O e|ectrocard|ogram (LCG or LkG) a LesL LhaL records Lhe elecLrlcal acLlvlLy of Lhe hearL shows abnormal
rhyLhms (arrhyLhmlas or dysrhyLhmlas) and deLecLs hearL muscle damage
O rena| |opsy a procedure ln whlch Llssue samples are removed (wlLh a needle or durlng surgery) from
Lhe body for examlnaLlon under a mlcroscope

Acute Renal Failure
Exams and Tests
Your doctor will begin to evaluate your acute renal Iailure with a medical history and physical
exam. Your doctor will review your health history and hospital chart (iI you are currently in the
hospital), check all the medicines you are taking, and ask about any other illnesses you have. A
complete evaluation is needed to:
O llnd Lhe cause of kldney fallure 1hls ls an exLremely lmporLanL parL of Lhe dlagnosls ldenLlfylng
Lhe cause ls someLlmes dlfflculL and may requlre many LesLs
O know how Lo LreaL your condlLlon Pow lL wlll be LreaLed and your chances for recovery usually
depend on whaL ls causlng your acuLe renal fallure
O Learn how much kldney funcLlon remalns
O ueLecL and LreaL any compllcaLlons LhaL may have developed
ST`W_`_
octors routinely use blood and urine tests to evaluate acute renal Iailure. These tests can detect
a buildup oI waste products in the blood and chemical imbalances in the body. These tests may
help diagnose another disease or inIection you have.

kecommended ke|ated to k|dney D|sorders
Kidney Infections: Symptoms and Treatments
MosL urlnary LracL lnfecLlons (u1ls) lnvolve only Lhe bladder and ureLhra (Lhe lower urlnary sysLem) yelonephrlLls
resulLs when a u1l progresses Lo lnvolve Lhe upper urlnary sysLem (Lhe kldneys and ureLers) yelonephrlLls ls a
poLenLlally serlous kldney lnfecLlon LhaL can spread Lo Lhe blood causlng severe lllness lorLunaLely pyelonephrlLls ls
almosL always curable wlLh anLlbloLlcs 1he kldneys fllLer Lhe blood Lo produce urlne 1wo Lubes called Lhe ureLers
carry urlne from Lhe kldneys down
Read the Kidney Infections: Symptoms and Treatments article > >
lood and urine tests may include:
O Serum creaLlnlne An lncrease ln Lhe amounL of creaLlnlne ln Lhe blood (serum creaLlnlne) ls
usually Lhe flrsL slgn of acuLe renal fallure 8epeaLed LesLs of serum creaLlnlne can help monlLor
Lhe progress of renal fallure and can help deLermlne wheLher LreaLmenL has been successful
O 8lood urea nlLrogen (8un) 8un measures Lhe amounL of nlLrogen ln your blood LhaL comes
from Lhe wasLe producL urea lf your kldneys are noL able Lo remove urea from Lhe blood
normally your 8un level lncreases
O 8lood elecLrolyLe LesLs such as calclum phosphaLe (phosphorus) poLasslum and sodlum
O CompleLe blood counL (C8C) A C8C provldes lmporLanL lnformaLlon abouL Lhe red blood cells
whlLe blood cells and plaLeleLs lL can be used Lo check for dlseases or lnfecLlons LhaL could be
causlng renal fallure
O CLher blood LesLs such as an eryLhrocyLe sedlmenLaLlon raLe (LS8 or sed raLe) or anLlnuclear
anLlbodles (AnA) LesL 1hese may be used Lo screen for lnfecLlon auLolmmune dlsease and
oLher dlsorders lf your medlcal hlsLory and sympLoms suggesL LhaL one of Lhese condlLlons
mlghL be presenL
O urlnalysls whlch examlnes a sample of your urlne 1he resulLs can provlde lnformaLlon abouL
urlne sedlmenL whlch ls useful for evaluaLlng kldney damage (lnLrlnslc acuLe renal fallure) lL
also looks for
4 urlne eoslnophlls (a Lype of whlLe blood cell) 1he presence of eoslnophlls ln Lhe urlne
may be a slgn LhaL an allerglc reacLlon ls damaglng Lhe kldneys CfLen Lhe allerglc
reacLlon ls caused by a medlclne
4 lracLlonal excreLlon of sodlum (le
na
) ln Lhe urlne lL measures how well Lhe kldneys can
process sodlum (na) based on Lhe levels of sodlum and creaLlnlne ln boLh Lhe urlne and
Lhe blood 1hls LesL can help dlsLlngulsh prerenal acuLe renal fallure where Lhere has
been no damage Lo Lhe kldney lLself from lnLrlnslc acuLe renal fallure caused by
damage Lo Lhe kldneys
O 24hour urlne collecLlon urlne ouLpuL ls measured over a 24hour perlod ?ou may have a small
Lube (caLheLer) lnserLed lnLo your bladder Lo collecL all of Lhe urlne you produce 8educed urlne
ouLpuL may or may noL occur wlLh acuLe renal fallure dependlng on Lhe cause Careful
measuremenL of urlne ouLpuL over Llme can also help monlLor fluld balance ln a person who has
renal fallure