Kidney diseases periodically hauntapproximately two thirds of the entire adult population of the earth. And the most common is acute pyelonephritis. What kind of disease is it, what causes it and how to fight it? This is what will be discussed below. Doctors call pyelonephritis a non-specific inflammation of the kidney, in which the connective tissue of the kidney itself is affected, as well as the initial part of the urinary tract - the calyceal-pelvic system. The inflammation is called non-specific because it occurs as a result of the penetration of not a specific type of pathogens, but many different pathogenic bacteria. Pyelonephritis can affect a person at any age, but most often it is encountered by people aged 20 to 40. In women, kidney inflammation most often develops as a consequence of the inflammatory process occurring in the bladder. In men, pathogenic bacteria enter the kidneys with the bloodstream.
Types of acute pyelonephritis
Doctors distinguish two types of acute coursepyelonephritis - primary and secondary. In primary pyelonephritis, the disease is not preceded by any other diseases such as inflammation of the bladder. But in secondary pyelonephritis, the disease is preceded by other urological diseases that disrupt blood circulation in the kidneys and lead to disruption of the outflow of urine. The inflammatory process in pyelonephritis can be serous and purulent. Sometimes complex pyelonephritis occurs - at first the process occurs without pus, but if the patient does not receive the necessary treatment, pus may develop. Also, sometimes with acute pyelonephritis, a huge number of small abscesses form in the kidneys. There may also be several large foci of suppuration.
Causes of acute pyelonephritis
In almost all cases, acute pyelonephritisdevelops as a result of pathogenic microflora penetrating the kidneys. As a rule, such microflora is E. coli, streptococcus, staphylococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus. Pathogenic microflora can penetrate the kidney in various ways:
- With a blood flow
Bacteria can enter the kidney through the blood fromvarious infectious sources present in the human body. Such sources of infection can be diseases such as caries, chronic tonsillitis and other chronic diseases of internal organs.
- Ascending way
In the event that a person hasinflammatory processes in the urinary tract or the bladder itself, such as urethritis or cystitis, the infection can penetrate into the kidneys through the ascending pathways. Most often, this route of infection occurs in women, due to the physiological features of the structure of the genitourinary system. Pyelonephritis has another feature. If the kidneys are absolutely healthy, an acute inflammatory process will not develop even if pathogenic bacteria penetrate them. For acute pyelonephritis to begin, a number of provoking factors are required. Such factors include:
- Serious liver diseases. As is known, the liver and kidneys play the function of a kind of filter that cleans the body of toxins and other substances that are unnecessary to it. And if the liver does not cope with its function, the double load is placed on the kidneys.
- Weakened immunity. In the event that the immune system is weakened, it can not give the necessary rebuff to the pathogenic microflora. As a result, acute pyelonephritis develops.
- All diseases, one way or another associated with hormonal disorders or metabolic disorders.
In addition, a lot depends on the localspredisposing factors. Such factors include all sorts of pathological changes in the urinary tract, both congenital and acquired - especially those areas that are responsible for the passage of urine. Acute purulent pyelonephritis is especially common in patients who have impaired passage (passage) of urine.
Principle of development of acute pyelonephritis and its symptoms
In the event that a person developsacute primary pyelonephritis, the pathogens penetrate the kidneys with the bloodstream, and there were no inflammatory processes in the bladder and urinary tract. In such a case, the inflammatory process most often develops in one kidney, but sometimes it can be bilateral, although less often. The inflammatory process itself begins in the framework of the kidney, the so-called interstitial tissue. It is in it that a huge number of small infiltrates arise - the serous stage of inflammation. If the inflammatory process becomes purulent, abscesses appear in place of these same infiltrates. In the absence of timely adequate treatment, the inflammatory process continues to spread to the renal tissue itself. And in this case, the disease takes on a particularly severe form of the course. In the case of secondary pyelonephritis, it is preceded by some disease or pathological change in the organs of the genitourinary system. Secondary pyelonephritis is most often found in those people who suffer from diseases such as:
- Kidney stones and bladder.
- Adenoma of the prostate gland in men.
- Narrowing of ureters and urethra.
These diseases very often disrupt the flow of urine,as a result of which trophic changes in kidney tissue may occur. As a result, the infection very easily penetrates the pathologically altered tissue, in which the inflammatory process develops. By the way, with secondary pyelonephritis, the inflammatory process is almost always purulent and requires more serious treatment. Pyelonephritis has quite specific and easily recognizable symptoms, by which the doctor can easily establish a diagnosis. So, acute pyelonephritis, symptoms:
- A sharp rise in body temperature to a fairly high figure.
- Feeling of a strong chill.
- Severe headaches that do not occur after taking painkillers.
- There may be a feeling of nausea and vomiting.
In addition, a person who has fallen ill with acutepyelonephritis, there are aching pains, sometimes on one side of the back, sometimes on the other. As a rule, the process of urination with pyelonephritis is not impaired, but the volume of urine decreases. This happens because the sick person loses a lot of fluid through sweat, since sweating during the disease is very profuse. As a rule, the course of secondary pyelonephritis is always much more severe than primary pyelonephritis, because in almost all cases it becomes purulent. Also, very often secondary pyelonephritis is complicated by such phenomena as nephritis or kidney abscess. It should also be noted that most often secondary pyelonephritis is preceded by severe renal colic - severe cramping pain. And although such symptoms are most typical for acute pyelonephritis, there are still several other diseases that can have similar signs. That is why, in order to make a more accurate diagnosis, the doctor prescribes a number of additional examinations that will help to avoid mistakes.
Treatment of acute pyelonephritis
Of course, pyelonephritis requires immediatetreatment. Treatment should be carried out only under strict medical supervision. All treatment is mainly medicinal - the patient is prescribed anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and pain-relieving pharmacological drugs. The regime should be mainly bed rest, the diet should be as gentle as possible. And, of course, one should not forget about drinking plenty of fluids. Fruit drinks and alkaline non-carbonated mineral waters are ideal. If a person is sick with secondary pyelonephritis, the goal of treatment is to restore normal urine flow. He is also prescribed antibacterial drugs and immune-boosting agents. If the outflow of urine is obstructed due to the presence of stones in the urinary tract, they are removed. In especially severe cases, if the purulent process, despite treatment, continues to progress, doctors are forced to resort to removing the affected kidney. That is why it is necessary to seek help from a doctor as soon as possible, at the first signs of the disease.
Diet with pyelonephritis
For successful treatment of pyelonephritis it is very importantfollow a proper diet. In the acute stage of the disease, doctors recommend introducing into the diet of the sick person those vegetables and fruits that have a pronounced diuretic effect - for example, zucchini, watermelons and melons. After about three days, if the symptoms have become less pronounced, the sick person should follow a dairy and plant diet. You should sharply reduce salt intake and completely exclude the following products:
- Canned food, pickles and smoked products.
- Any seasonings and spices, especially sharp.
- Coffee and caffeinated products.
- Carbonated drinks.
- Alcoholic beverages.
- Mushrooms and mushroom broth.
- Peas and other legumes.
Preference should be given to products such asdairy - milk, kefir, yogurt, vegetable - boiled vegetables, mashed. All types of fruits that are rich in potassium - dried apricots, raisins, butter, unsalted bread. Diet for acute pyelonephritis is very important, but we must not forget about the need to follow a diet. Meals should be fractional - in small portions, every two to three hours. In no case should you fry foods - they must be boiled or stewed. We recommend reading:
