Kidney Failure
HCA/240
Instructor:
October, 2011
Axia College of University of Phoenix

Kidney Failure I was given two scenarios to look at and answer questions about. This paper will show what the scenarios are. It will also include what I feel are the correct answers are by the research that has been done. Scenario A: Acute renal failure A 68 year old female named Ms. Jones underwent open-heart surgery to replace blocked vessels in the heart. The first day of her postoperatively the notes showed that Ms. Jones has had very little production of urine. What is happening to her kidneys and why it is causing the observed symptom? According to the symptom that was noted for Ms. Jones it looks like her kidneys are failing and leading to kidney failure. Kidneys filter the human body’s blood, producing about one milliliter of urine a minute and when the urine changes it is due to shutting down of the kidneys. This could be because the body is in shock due to the surgery that was preformed, and the abnormal amount of urine is also known as oliguria. What other symptoms and signs might occur? There are other systems and signs that might occur due to the kidney failure. One is due to accumulation of compounds containing nitrogen in the blood the smell of ammonia in the mouth. Others can include headaches and gastrointestinal distress. In some cases an elevated level of potassium in the blood known as hyperkalemia. Some other symptoms that might occur with acute kidney failure can include nausea, fatigue, confusion, body swelling, and/or abdominal pain. What is causing Ms. Jones’s kidney disease? Ms. Jones’s kidney disease in most likely due to the surgery to fix the blocked blood vessels that was in her heart. Now that the blood flow is now able to pass and fill those blood vessels, and/ or the damage from these blood vessels being blocked for a time period could have compromised the blood in her body. This could have caused the kidney disease due to the decrease of blood to the kidneys. This is causing oliguria, low amount of urine output it could also include anuria. What are possible prognosis and treatment options? There could be different treatment options depending on what damage has been done to the kidneys, and if they have failed. Though for Ms. Jones treatment options which include restoration of the volume of blood to normal, dialysis, and restrict or lower the fluids intake that she has. The underlying cause of the kidneys has been found for Ms. Jones, it can be treated and she could have a more favorable prognosis that others. With some people when the kidney has stopped working and completely failed a transplant might be needed, this can be expensive and extremely heard to find a donor match. Scenario B: Chronic rental failure. A 73 year old man whose name is Mr. Hodges’s who has congestive heart failure and has had it for the past five years. He was told by his doctor that his heart is not function as well as it should be. He also stated that he needs more and more medication to maintain circulatory function. He has also observed that he only urinating once a day. Why is the condition of Mr. Hodges’s kidneys affecting the rest of his body? Mr. Hodges’s body is accumulating waste products (metabolic) some could include creatinine, uric acid, and urea into his blood. The kidneys fail to adequately filter the toxins and the waste from the blood; this can lead to fluid level and potassium that is abnormal in the body. This is a condition that his kidneys are affecting the rest of his body. Another affect that the body might have due to his kidneys is slower healing process with broken bones, and due to the lack of urination can lead to water build up in the ankles and threw out his body. As Mr. Hodges’s chronic renal failure worsens, what other signs and symptoms might occur in his digestive, nervous, respiratory, and urinary systems? Mr. Hodges’s may experience other symptoms due to suffering from chronic renal failure some of them being a urine smell on his breath, nausea, diarrhea, and an ammonia taste in the mouth. He may also experience deep sighing respirations, mental cloudiness, pyuria, vomiting, dim vision, casts, albuminuria, convulsions, and/ or a coma. What is causing Mr. Hodges’s kidney disease?