{"id":220,"date":"2014-05-29T21:54:07","date_gmt":"2014-05-29T21:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theiyaproject.org\/blog\/?p=220"},"modified":"2020-02-08T15:25:40","modified_gmt":"2020-02-08T20:25:40","slug":"renalnews-strep-throat-and-kidney-damage-post-streptococcal-glomerulonephritis-gn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theiyafoundation.org\/2014\/05\/29\/renalnews-strep-throat-and-kidney-damage-post-streptococcal-glomerulonephritis-gn\/","title":{"rendered":"RenalNews: Strep Throat and Kidney Damage \u2013 Post Streptococcal Glomerulonephritis (GN)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i><a href=\"http:\/\/theiyaproject.org\/blog\/renalnews-strep-throat\">Strep throat<\/a> is an infection in the throat and tonsils that causes pharyngitis, which is a sore throat accompanied with discomfort, pain, or scratchiness; usually making it hard to swallow. Group A Streptococcus bacteria is the germ which causes a strep throat infection. Click<a href=\"http:\/\/theiyaproject.org\/blog\/renalnews-strep-throat\"> here<\/a> for more information on the causes, symptoms, treatment, and how to prevent strep throat. Although symptoms of strep throat usually gets better within 24 \u2013 48 hours, and treatment usually about 1 week with the use of antibiotics, untreated strep can lead to serious complications such as a rare kidney complication called post streptococcal glomerulonephritis.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Post Streptococcal Glomerulonephritis (GN) is a disorder of the kidneys developed after an individual is infected with certain strains of Streptococcus bacteria and they let it go untreated. GN is a form of glomerulonephritis.<br \/>\n<b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Causes of Post Streptococcal Glomerulonephritis (GN)<\/span><\/b><br \/>\nPost Streptococcal Glomerulonephritis (GN) may develop about 1 \u2013 2 weeks after an untreated throat infection, or 3 \u2013 4 weeks after a skin infection. The strep bacterial infection causes the tiny vessels in the filtering units of the kidneys (glomeruli) to become inflamed; making the kidneys less able to filter.<br \/>\nUsually, the infection does not occur in the kidneys but in a different part of the body such as the skin and the throat.<br \/>\nRisk Factors:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Strep Throat<\/li>\n<li>Streptococcal skin infections (such as impetigo)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Symptoms of Post Streptococcal Glomerulonephritis (GN)<\/span><\/b><br \/>\nAs earlier mentioned, symptoms of Post Streptococcal Glomerulonephritis (GN) may develop about 1 \u2013 2 weeks after an untreated throat infection, or 3 \u2013 4 weeks after a skin infection. Some of the symptoms include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Decreased urine output<\/li>\n<li>Rust colored urine<\/li>\n<li>Swelling (edema) &#8211; general swelling of the abdomen, swelling of the face or eyes, swelling of the feet, ankles, hands<\/li>\n<li>Visible blood in the urine<\/li>\n<li>Joint pain<\/li>\n<li>Joint stiffness or swelling<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">How to Tell You Have Post Streptococcal Glomerulonephritis (GN)<\/span><\/b><br \/>\nPhysical Exam:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Shows swelling (edema), especially in the face<\/li>\n<li>Abnormal sounds when listening to the heart and lungs with a stethoscope (auscultation)<\/li>\n<li>Blood pressure is often high<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Tests<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Anti-DNase B<\/li>\n<li>Kidney biopsy<\/li>\n<li>Serum ASO (and streptolysin O)<\/li>\n<li>Serum complement levels<\/li>\n<li>Urinalysis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Treatment of Post Streptococcal Glomerulonephritis (GN)<\/span><\/b><br \/>\nWith no specific treatment for post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, treatment is usually focused on relieving symptoms. Such treatments may include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Blood pressure medications and diuretic medications may be to control swelling and high blood pressure<\/li>\n<li>Antibiotics (used to destroy and streptococcal bacteria that remain in the body)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Other common treatment includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Salt limitation in diet to control swelling and high blood pressure<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Although Post Streptococcal Glomerulonephritis (GN) is rare today because treatment with antibiotics is usually effective in getting rid of the strep bacteria in the throat and skin, a small percentage of adults however end up with chronic kidney failure\u2026end stage renal disease, which requires dialysis and a kidney transplant.<br \/>\n<b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Prevention of Strep Throat<\/span><\/b><br \/>\nTreatment of streptococcal infections including the risk factors:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Strep Throat<\/li>\n<li>Streptococcal skin infections (such as impetigo)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Possible Complications of Post Streptococcal Glomerulonephritis (GN)<\/span><\/b><br \/>\nAlthough post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis usually goes away by itself after several weeks to months, it may sometimes get worse in certain adults, and lead to chronic kidney failure, and other complications including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Acute renal failure<\/li>\n<li>Chronic glomerulonephritis<\/li>\n<li>Chronic renal disease<\/li>\n<li>Congestive heart failure or pulmonary edema<\/li>\n<li>End-stage renal disease<\/li>\n<li>Hyperkalemia<\/li>\n<li>High blood pressure (hypertension)<\/li>\n<li>Nephrotic syndrome<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><i>Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nlm.nih.gov\/medlineplus\/ency\/article\/000503.htm\">http:\/\/www.nlm.nih.gov\/medlineplus\/ency\/article\/000503.htm<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Strep throat is an infection in the throat and tonsils that causes pharyngitis, which is a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1799,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0},"categories":[159],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theiyafoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/renalnews.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theiyafoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theiyafoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theiyafoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theiyafoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theiyafoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theiyafoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3953,"href":"https:\/\/theiyafoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220\/revisions\/3953"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theiyafoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theiyafoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theiyafoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theiyafoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}