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:
- Stabilizing the patient's acid-base balance and hypervolemic state through diuresis (using diuretic drugs).
- Carefully monitoring the patient's urine output and renal clearance tests (i.e. creatinine clearance tests) that measure the kidney's filtering capacity.
- Assuring proper nutrition, but restricting excessive protein intake.
- 21. What are the effects of diuresis in treating a patient with kidney disease?
- 22. Why is protein restricted in the diet of a patient in kidney failure?
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.
View the Dialysis video and answer the following questions:
- 23. What is renal dialysis?
- 24. What are the 2 different options for a patient facing renal dialysis? How do these 2 methods differ? List the advantages and disadvantages of each.
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.