Injury - kidney and ureter

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Kidney anatomy

Kidney - blood and urine flow

Kidney damage; Toxic injury of the kidney; Kidney injury; Traumatic injury of the kidney; Fractured kidney; Inflammatory injury of the kidney; Bruised kidney; Ureteral injury

Acute or emergency symptoms may include:

• Abdominal pain
• Abdominal swelling
• Back pain
• Blood in the urine
• Decreased alertness, including coma
• Decreased urine output
• Drowsiness
• Fever
• Flank pain, severe
• Increased heart rate
• Inability to urinate
• Nausea, vomiting
• Pale skin
• Skin cool to touch
• Sweating

Long-term (chronic) symptoms may include:

• Constipation (can occur with toxic injury or lead poisoning)
• Irritability
• Weight loss

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If only one kidney is affected and the other kidney is healthy, you may not have any symptoms.

The health care provider may find the source of the injury by reviewing your:

• History of physical injury
• Exposure to toxic substances
• Recent infections or illness

A physical exam may reveal:

• Excess bleeding (hemorrhage)
• Extreme tenderness over the kidney
• Shock, including rapid heart rate or falling blood pressure
• Signs of kidney failure

Tests that may be done include:

• Abdominal CT scan
• Abdominal MRI
• Abdominal ultrasound
• Angiography of the kidney artery or vein
• Blood electrolytes
• Blood tests to look for toxic substances
• Complete blood count (CBC)
• Intravenous pyelogram (IVP)
• Retrograde pyelogram
• Kidney x-ray
• Renal scan
• Urinalysis

Review Date: 09/03/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Scott Miller, MD, Urologist in private practice in Atlanta, Georgia. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).