Polycystic Kidney Disease

Polycystic kidney disease is a group of inherited disorders characterized by cyst development within the kidneys. The two major inherited forms are autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) and autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD). ADPKD is the most common inherited cystic kidney disorder, and it is the form most nurses meet in adult care. Picture a kidney slowly filling with fluid-filled balloons. For years the healthy tissue around them keeps up, so the blood work looks reassuring while the kidneys quietly enlarge. That is why ADPKD may remain asymptomatic for many years despite progressive cyst development. Normal kidney function does not exclude substantial cystic disease. The disease also reaches beyond the kidney. The person with cysts is the same person who may arrive with a sudden headache from a ruptured brain aneurysm, a fever from an infected cyst, or a liver injury from the drug meant to slow the disease. Keep four questions in mind as you read: 1. How is the blood pressure, and how is kidney function trending? 2. Is this new pain a bleed, an infection...