Acute Renal Failure - Page 2

The patient was admitted to the hospital by the patient's family practice physician.   In the meantime, he contacted a nephrologist, an internal medicine physician specializing in disorders of the kidney. In addition, a registered nurse with special skills in caring for patients with renal disease was assigned to oversee the patient's nursing care.

 

Initial care and assessment consisted of:
1. Stabilizing the patient's acid-base balance and hypervolemic state through diuresis (using diuretic drugs).
2. Carefully monitoring the patient's urine output and renal clearance tests (i.e. creatinine clearance tests) that measure the kidney's filtering capacity. 
3. Assuring proper nutrition, but restricting excessive protein intake.

 

 

Instructor's Note: Since this patient's renal failure was determined early, a relatively conservative approach to her care was indicated.  However, if the serum creatinine level had exceeded 8-10 mg/dl., prophylactic  renal dialysis would have been indicated. Stabilizing her hypervolemia through controlled diuresis was the clinical approach of choice.

 

Dialysis

 

 

 

After several days of treatment and monitoring vital indicators such as urine output, blood creatinine levels, and urine clearance tests, the patient was discharged from the hospital.