Recently, a disease such as renal calicoectasia is increasingly being diagnosed. Its second name is renal hydrocalicosis . Pathology is characterized by a violation of the outflow of urine into the bladder from the kidneys. It can occur in women during pregnancy. Calicoectasia can be unilateral and bilateral. With it, a deviation from normal kidney activity is observed, which requires professional therapy. Due to the similarity of symptoms, the disease can be confused with other renal ailments, in connection with which the patient must be carefully examined, including using x-rays and ultrasound.
The essence of pathology
Kidney hydrocalicosis is a disease characterized by the expansion of the renal calyx, which causes compression of the remaining tissues of this organ. Because of this, it ceases to function normally, and the renal papillae later atrophy. The disease can occur at different ages, often in women during pregnancy. Bilateral renal calicoectasia is dangerous.
Cause
Its main cause is defects in the urinary outflow. The disease does not always have an independent character, and in some cases it can develop along with one or another ailment of the urinary system. In this situation, a comprehensive study is required, which includes x-ray, ultrasound, MRI. Thanks to ultrasound, you can consider the picture of the pathology comprehensively and identify the factors of its development. It is a sign of even more serious diseases, for example, tumor formations in the calyx and tuberculosis. Symptoms in renal hydrocaliosis resemble other pathologies, so in some cases there are difficulties in making a diagnosis.
Since the pathology arose recently, it is not absent in ICD 10. However, there is hydronephrosis in the classification, which is a consequence of renal hydrocaliosis.
Kinds
There are three types of ailment: calicoectasis of the right kidney, left, and also a bilateral ailment. One of the varieties is the most commonly diagnosed hydrocalicosis of the right kidney. With such a disease, urine accumulates, which stretches first the tissue of the cup pelvis, and then the kidney. Due to the constant pressure of the channels, atrophy of the renal papilla may occur. According to the symptoms, the pathology of the right lobe can be confused with colic of the gallbladder or appendicitis.
Calicoectasis of the left kidney is characterized by chills, accompanied by pain in the lower back. In this case, the patient's body temperature rises, nausea appears, and with it vomiting. Turbid urine is released, urination is frequent, but their volume is small. Hydrokaliosis of the left kidney is a rare species that is rarely diagnosed in medical practice.
Calicoectasis of both kidneys is a dangerous disease. This is due to the fact that when the kidneys stop functioning, the whole organism fails, since they are vital. Factors of development are both congenital and acquired symptoms. Moderate renal calicoectasia is characterized by an increase in its symptoms, while pain extends to the entire lower back, and therefore a comprehensive diagnosis is necessary.
We will talk about this later.
Causes of the disease
In medical practice, such main causes of pathology are distinguished as:
- neoplasms in the pelvic area that crush the urinary tract;
- diseases characterized by the formation of stones in the excretory system;
- late gestation, in which the uterus presses on the kidney (most often on the right), after birth, the pathology disappears;
- abnormalities caused by the work of blood vessels in the kidney zone;
- prolapse of the kidneys, due to which the ureter is twisted;
- pelvic injury;
- the appearance of tuberculosis and its development;
- inflammation in the lymph nodes;
- obstruction in the ureter that appears when scars form after the intervention of a surgeon;
- deviations in the structure of the urinary tract.
The main signs of this pathology
How does the disease manifest itself? When calicoectasis of the kidneys, the patient feels severe chills, accompanied by high body temperature, which can reach forty degrees. An increase in temperature is noted in those cases when urine is not excreted from the body in a timely manner. Characterized by the appearance of vomiting and nausea, which does not bring relief to the patient. With this disease, he feels severe pain, which passes to other areas, including in the groin area. In men, pain becomes stronger with the development of calicopyeloureterectasia, that is, joining the main pathology of inflammation in the urethra. Due to calicopyeloureterectasia, small bleeding occurs, since stones damage the walls of the channel along which urine moves.
What other signs of renal calicoectasia exist?
The patient often feels the urge to empty, but the liquid at the same time comes out in a small volume. In this case, urine is cloudy, small impurities of the blood may be observed. The urethra is accompanied by cutting pains. With bilateral hydrocaliosis, the signs of the disease appear even more intensely and brighter.
Manifestations of this pathology in children
Renal hydrocaliosis in newborn babies appears due to the influence of various causes, which include the presence of additional vessels inside the kidneys. The disease, in fact, is formed in the child due to ailments that appeared earlier. It is a deviation from the proper functioning, proceeding without symptoms. The disease is most often diagnosed with a routine examination of babies after childbirth.
Symptoms of renal calicoectasia in newborns have various manifestations, which depends on the degree of damage. The child becomes weak, pressure and temperature increase, constant nausea is noted. The color of the urine is much darker, the newborn feels pain when urinating. At first, the pain is weak, however, over time, their intensity increases, and the child has uncomfortable sensations.
Calicoectasia of the kidneys during pregnancy
During pregnancy, renal hydrocaliosis is characterized by a wide range of symptoms. The main symptom is hormonal disruptions in the female body, which appear from the first trimester. In addition, infections that either enter the body or arise as a result of the inflammatory process contribute to the development of the disease. It happens that during pregnancy a woman’s uterus presses on one side of the kidneys and other organs (mainly on the right, less often on the left), causing uncomfortable sensations in one or another area. In the absence of timely treatment, the patient has complications, which may include either an infection that joins in the area of inflammation, or the appearance of kidney stones. A significant complication is chronic failure of the liver.
Methods for diagnosing the disease
To identify the main signs of pathology, the patient must undergo a full examination, which includes several methods. Thanks to this, you can determine the correct diagnosis and identify the factors that provoked the development of the disease. The doctor first makes an anamnesis, which describes the patient's complaints and analyzes his previous illnesses. Then laboratory research methods are prescribed, including biochemical and general analyzes of urine and blood.
After this, an X-ray examination is performed. This method requires the use of radiopaque substances. Thanks to MRI, radiography of the peritoneal cavity and ultrasound, you can determine the true picture of the pathology. With the help of ultrasound, the development of deviations is monitored. Ultrasound is also used to establish the characteristics of the course of the disease, the causes of clogging of the pelvis and defects in the departments of the excretory system.
The following instrumental methods will also help establish the correct diagnosis:
- Excretory urography. The procedure involves the introduction of a special fluid into the body, which is contrasting and can be clearly seen in special photographs of the urinary system. This method helps to identify structural pathologies of the kidneys and monitor the performance of urinary function.
- Renal angiography. It differs from the previous method in that the contrast agent is injected directly into the renal artery.
- Retrograde pyelography. It is carried out to examine the affected kidney. It involves the introduction of a contrast agent through a catheter into the desired organ (right or left kidney).
- Multispiral tomography.
What is the treatment for renal calicoectasia?
The main therapeutic measures
A conservative therapeutic method is the use of medications, which is carried out under the supervision of a specialist. If an infection acts as a provoking factor of the disease, then the doctor prescribes antibiotics to the patient. Thanks to the sowing of urine, it is possible to identify the degree of sensitivity to the preparations of microorganisms that caused renal hydrocalicosis. Anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics are prescribed to reduce body temperature and eliminate pain.
Surgical intervention
At any stage in the development of renal calicoectasia, surgery becomes a necessary therapeutic method, however, tests are required before this. There are several methods of surgical intervention, and only the specialist selects the required types of therapy. A type of operation, after which there are no negative consequences, is called laparoscopy. In this case, the walls of the peritoneal cavity are punctured.
Folk remedies
In renal calicoectasia, in addition to surgery and treatment using various medications, traditional medicine is also used. Treatment through the use of such methods includes the use of patients' infusions and decoctions on herbs. Despite the naturalness of any folk remedy, in some cases an allergic reaction may occur, therefore, before using this method, a specialist consultation is necessary. The following herbs are used as folk remedies: burdock, St. John's wort, cornflower, rose hip, etc. They can help with the patient following the correct diet, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and playing sports.