RENAL COMPONENT ASSESSMENT (IN ITU) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

RENAL COMPONENT ASSESSMENT (IN ITU) - Essay Example This notwithstanding, some people develop a medical condition where the kidneys are almost incapacitated or fail to adequately perform this role of filtration of waste products from the bloodstream. Once this situation is diagnosed, the person is said to be suffering from renal dysfunction, kidney failure, or renal insufficiency. The situation described above is only the end result of the health problem as it involves several complex component aspects that bring about this medical condition. This paper therefore aims to critically assesses and analyse renal dysfunction from a medical point of view, where emphasis is placed on renal anatomy and physiology, effect of renal system on cardiovascular and respiratory systems, clinical plans for renal dysfunction, and the treatment of various components of renal dysfunctional situations such as hyperkalaemia. Case Study Analysis This is a case of 90 year old Mrs. X (name withdrawn for ethical purposes of anonymity). Mrs. X has medical histo ry that includes hypertension, cataracts and previous rectal prolapse. Three days before her admission to the ITU, she had been presented to the Accident and Emergency Unit with abdominal pain. She was then treated for urinary tract infection using Trimethoprim and then sent home. On the day of admission to the ITU, which was three days after she left the Accident and Emergency Unit, Mrs. X was found with nausea, distended abdomen and suffering anuria for 3 days. Through an Electrocardiography, Mrs. X was identified to be showing ventricular ectopic beats with the following readings: blood creatinine 984, urea 54:8, potassium 8.7, CK 227, and CRP (c-reactive protein) 177. Indeed this case gives a multi-variant indication of possible complications that Mrs. X may be suffering from. But more significantly, it would be noted that most of the situational conditions of the patient are highly related, and for that matter, related to the functioning of her renal systems (UK Renal Associati on, 2012, p. 86). According to UK Renal Association (2012, p. 87), there are three major groups of renal failure, with each of these having their own causes based on their location within the renal system. These types are prerenal renal failure, postrenal renal failure and intrinsic renal failure. For patients with prerenal renal failure, they are diagnosed to have perfusion of the kidney, which signals that there is lack of proper cleaning in the blood (Web MD, 2010). This may be caused by dehydration, continual blood loss or heart failure. Postrenal renal failure on the other hand involves an inhibited flow of urine out of the two kidneys, leading to amassed pressure in the renal nephrons (Watts, Harri and Shaw, 2010, p. 98). This is often caused by factors including bladder stone, kidney stones, and neurogenic bladder. Intrinsic renal failure is however a damage to both kidneys and is not associated or caused by either prerenal or postrenal renal failures. Intrinsic renal failure is however caused by vascular diseases, diseases of tubules, and acute tubular necrosis. By comparison, it will be noted that Mrs. X is currently suffering from a postrenla renal failure as she shows symptoms directly related to her renal nephron functioning. Quite apart from these renal related issues, her experience with cataracts and hypertension could be said to be highly isolated for her current symptoms,