Chronic renal failure

Disease	Injury	Nutrition	Poison

Special Topic	Surgery	Symptoms	Test

Kidney anatomy

Kidney - blood and urine flow

Chronic renal failure

Alternative Names:

Kidney failure - chronic; Renal failure - chronic; Chronic renal insufficiency; CRF; Chronic kidney failure

Symptoms:

INITIAL SYMPTOMS (may be nonspecific)

LATER SYMPTOMS

increased or decreased urine output
need to urinate at night
easy bruising or bleeding;
may have blood in the vomit or in stools
decreased alertness
muscle twitching or cramps
seizures
uremic frost--deposits of white crystals in and on the skin
decreased sensation in the hands, feet, or other areas

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:

Signs and tests:

Blood pressure may be high, with mild to severe hypertension. A neurologic examination may show polyneuropathy. Abnormal heart or lung sounds may be heard with a stethoscope.

A urinalysis may show protein or other abnormalities. An abnormal urinalysis may occur 6 months to 10 or more years before symptoms appear.

Creatinine levels progressively increase.
BUN is progressively increased.
Creatinine clearance progressively decreases.
Potassium test may show elevated levels.
Arterial blood gas and blood chemistry analysis may show metabolic acidosis.

Changes that indicate chronic renal failure, including both kidneys being smaller than normal, may be seen on:

This disease may also alter the results of the following tests:

Review Date: 11/30/2001
Reviewed By: Andrew Koren, M.D., Department of Nephrology, NYU-Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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