Kidney-Related Conditions That Nephrologists Treat

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CKD is a long-term condition in which patients develop decreased kidney function. 

The two most common causes are diabetes and high blood pressure, but a variety of other medical conditions can also be responsible. Patients with CKD should get regular follow up care with a nephrologist.

ESRD patients need to get life-sustaining dialysis on an ongoing basis, either at an outpatient dialysis clinic three times a week or at home, and this must be done under the care of a nephrologist.

AKI occurs when the kidneys were working normally, and then something suddenly happens to decrease the function. The prognosis of AKI (whether the kidney function comes back or not) depends on what caused it, but most of the time the kidneys can recover. Causes of AKI include dehydration, medications, infections, low blood pressure, etc. We manage all types of AKI both as an inpatient and an outpatient.

A kidney transplant is a surgical procedure in which a healthy kidney is put into a patient with ESRD so that they don’t need dialysis anymore. After the kidney transplant is done the nephrologist manages all aspects of the patient’s kidney care including the anti-rejection medications.

Nephrologists are the board-certified experts in high BP. Most of the time hypertension is managed by primary care doctors, but we manage the more complicated patients with difficult-to-control hypertension, and do diagnostic testing on certain patients to see if there is an underlying cause of their high BP.

Protein in the urine is typically a sign of inflammation or damage in the kidney. The most common causes are diabetes and hypertension, but many other diseases can  

cause it, some of them very serious. If you have protein in the urine, it is recommended you see a nephrologist for evaluation and treatment to avoid kidney failure in the future.

Nephrologists are experts in diagnosing and managing all types of electrolyte disorders (too high or too low a blood level). We treat patients with disorders of sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, etc.

There are a variety of autoimmune diseases that can affect the kidney and lead to kidney failure, including lupus. Many of these diseases fall under the category of “glomerulonephritis” which is a primary inflammation of the kidney which require medications that weaken the immune system. The treatment and prognosis vary based on the specific type of disease a patient has.

Patients can get anemia (low blood count) for a variety of reasons including blood loss or bone marrow problems, but there are also specific reasons related to kidney disease, and nephrologists treat these.

Kidney stones can develop in the kidney and cause problems with blockage when they try to pass. Urologists (surgical kidney specialists) focus on removing the stones that have already formed, while nephrologists focus on the underlying problem that causes stones to form in the first place. Kidney stones are no fun, and if you have had multiple stones you should see a nephrologist to diagnose the cause and prevent further stone formation.

There are a variety of genetic diseases that patients can have including PKD that require the expertise of nephrologists. There have also been a lot of advances recently with medicines and genetic testing that can be beneficial in certain genetic conditions.