Your kidneys are 2 bean-shaped organs about the size of a fist, located near the middle of the back, below the rib cage. Kidneys filter blood by keeping compounds that are useful and removing waste and excess fluid, and they help regulate blood pressure and the number of red blood cells. Every 30 minutes, your kidneys filter all the blood in your body. The February 11, 2009, issue of JAMA includes an article about dietary phosphorus intake among patients with end-stage kidney disease. This Patient Page is based on one published in the December 12, 2001, issue of JAMA.
Grahic Jump Location
Kidney failure occurs when the kidneys cannot properly remove wastes, causing buildup of waste and fluid in the body. By checking blood and urine tests, your doctor can determine if you have kidney failure.
Acute kidney failure develops suddenly, sometimes because of severe infection, drugs or other chemical agents, or physical trauma. If the underlying problem can be successfully treated, complete recovery of the kidneys is possible.
Chronic kidney failure develops gradually over years and may cause weight loss, anemia (low blood cell count), nausea or vomiting, tiredness, headaches, decreased mental sharpness, muscle twitches and cramps, yellowish-brown skin color, unusual itching, and trouble sleeping.
End-stage kidney disease causes anemia, high blood pressure, bone disease, heart failure, and poor mental functioning.
Dialysis is the treatment used when the kidneys stop working altogether. In hemodialysis , blood is sent through a machine that filters away the waste products and returns the clean blood to the body. In peritoneal dialysis a fluid called dialysate is introduced into the abdomen; it captures waste products from the blood and is drained away.
Transplantation is the use of a new kidney from a donor to replace damaged kidneys. Transplants involve major surgery and usually require treatment to prevent rejection of the new organ.
See a doctor if you have pain or burning when you urinate, frequent urges to urinate, urine that is cloudy or dark, fever or a feeling of shakiness, or pain in your back or side below your ribs that does not go away. Treatment of high blood pressure and diabetes can help prevent kidney disease.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseaseshttp://www.niddk.nih.gov
National Kidney Foundationhttp://www.kidney.org
UK National Kidney Federationhttp://www.kidney.org.uk
To find this and previous JAMA Patient Pages, go to the Patient Page link on JAMA's Web site at http://www.jama.com. A Patient Page on kidney transplantation was published in the December 7, 2005, issue and one on organ donation was published in the January 9/16, 2008, issue.
Sources: American Kidney Foundation, American Society of Nephrology, Mayo Clinic Foundation, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Kidney Foundation, UK National Kidney Federation
The JAMA Patient Page is a public service of JAMA. The information and recommendations appearing on this page are appropriate in most instances, but they are not a substitute for medical diagnosis. For specific information concerning your personal medical condition, JAMA suggests that you consult your physician. This page may be photocopied noncommercially by physicians and other health care professionals to share with patients. To purchase bulk reprints, call 312/464-0776.
TOPIC: KIDNEY DISEASE
Country-Specific Mortality and Growth Failure in Infancy and Yound Children and Association With Material Stature
Use interactive graphics and maps to view and sort country-specific infant and early dhildhood mortality and growth failure data and their association with maternal
Instructions
Comments are moderated and will appear on the site at the discretion of the Journal of American Medical Association editors. Comments should not exceed 500 words of text and 10 references.
Do not submit personal medical questions or information that could identify a specific patient, questions about a particular case, or general inquiries to an author. Only content that has not been published, posted, or submitted elsewhere should be submitted. By submitting this Comment, you and any coauthors transfer copyright to the journal if your Comment is posted.
* = Required Field
Disclosure of Any Conflicts of Interest* Indicate all relevant conflicts of interest of each author below, including all relevant financial interests, activities, and relationships within the past 3 years including, but not limited to, employment, affiliation, grants or funding, consultancies, honoraria or payment, speakers’ bureaus, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, royalties, donation of medical equipment, or patents planned, pending, or issued. If all authors have none, check "No potential conflicts or relevant financial interests" in the box below. Please also indicate any funding received in support of this work. The information will be posted with your response.
Register and get free email Table of Contents alerts, saved searches, PowerPoint downloads, CME quizzes, and more
Subscribe for full-text access to content from 1998 forward and a host of useful features
Activate your current subscription (AMA members and current subscribers)
Some tools below are only available to our subscribers or users with an online account.
Download citation file:
Customize your page view by dragging & repositioning the boxes below.
The Rational Clinical Examination The Bottom Line for Diastolic Murmurs in Patients With Renal Failure
The Rational Clinical Examination Diastolic Murmurs in Patients With Renal Failure
All results at JAMAevidence.com >
and access these and other features:
Register Now
Enter your username and email address. We'll send you a reminder to the email address on record.
Athens and Shibboleth are access management services that provide single sign-on to protected resources. They replace the multiple user names and passwords necessary to access subscription-based content with a single user name and password that can be entered once per session. It operates independently of a user's location or IP address. If your institution uses Athens or Shibboleth authentication, please contact your site administrator to receive your user name and password.