Glomerulonephritis

The肾脏are fist-sized organs in the back that are shaped like kidney beans. They filter blood and help remove waste products from the body. Tiny filtering units within the kidneys do this with the help of blood vessels called glomeruli. When the glomeruli become inflamed, it’s calledglomerulonephritis.

肾小球肾炎（Gluh-Mare-You-Low-Ne-Fry-TIS）导致肾脏恢复正常工作，这可能导致整个身体和其他症状的肿胀（水肿）。肾小球肾炎可以是急性（突然发生）或慢性（发展几年）。通常，人们不知道他们有肾小球肾炎，直到常规尿检检测到它。

Many cases of glomerulonephritis get better on their own. Those that don’t will require treatment, which usually is very effective. Untreated glomerulonephritis can lead to kidney failure orchronic kidney disease, although this is rare.

肾脏如何工作

Kidneys work a lot like a garbage collection and disposal system. The body doesn’t use everything that we eat and drink, and this creates waste products. Some of that waste ends up in the blood, along with other waste products from chemical reactions in the body. Kidneys filter the blood and remove excess fluids and waste products by passing them out of the body as urine (pee).

血液过滤发生在叫做肾的微小结构中。每个肾脏都有大约一百万个肾脏，每个肾脏都有一个肾小球（肾小球单数），微观血管或毛细血管的球。肾小球是肾上过滤器，其中从血液中除去废物和流体的过程开始。

If someone’s glomeruli aren’t doing their job properly, it can cause a number of problems for the kidneys and affect overall health.

Causes

Causes of acute glomerulonephritis include:

• conditions that affect the immune system (such aslupus要么艾滋病病毒)
• conditions that affect the blood vessels (like vasculitis orHenoch Schonlein Purpura)
• 与A组感染链球菌(the bacteria that causestrep throat)

Doctors often know what’s causing acute glomerulonephritis, but it can be difficult to find the cause of chronic glomerulonephritis. Sometimes, doctors don’t know why people get it. In rare cases, children can inherit glomerulonephritis from their parents; this is calledAlport syndrome.

Symptoms

患有急性肾小球肾炎，症状突然出现，可能在皮肤感染后或喉咙喉咙的情况。慢性肾小球肾炎可能需要几年时间才能通过尿检进行检测。

Early signs of glomerulonephritis include:

• blood in the urine(血尿, which causes red or brown urine)
• 尿液中的蛋白质，这可以使尿液在厕所出现泡沫状
• 肿胀,特别是ecially in the morning, around the face, eyes, ankles, legs, and abdomen
• 高血压（高血压）

If the condition isn’t caught early and treated, kidney damage can occur. Symptoms of kidney damage or kidney failure include:

• 更频繁地小便
• 减少尿量
• 食欲不振
• nausea and vomiting
• 减肥
• muscle cramps at night
• fatigue
• pale skin
• 高血压
• headaches
• fluid buildup in the tissues

其他条件会导致这些症状，因此它们并不一定意味着肾脏失败。但是，如果您的孩子有任何这些症状，很重要的是要立即看到医生来确定原因。

Diagnosis

在医生的办公室，解释你孩子的症状。医生会检查你的孩子，可能会血液和血液尿液样本供测试用。医生也可能订购一个肾超声波为了更好地看看肾脏。超声波使用声波创建器官和其他身体部位的图像。

In some cases, a活检may be necessary. During this procedure, a tiny sample of kidney tissue is removed and sent to a lab for testing to help determine the cause of the glomerulonephritis and check for any kidney damage.

治疗

虽然一些急性肾小球肾炎的病例自行消失，但其他患者需要治疗。治疗越早开始，可能对肾脏的损害越少。

对肾小球肾炎的治疗因儿童年龄和一般健康而异，肾脏运作的程度以及炎症的原因。

治疗可能包括：

• fluid restriction (limiting the amount of fluid your child drinks in a day)
• 蛋白质，盐和钾含量低的饮食
• diuretics (medicines that increase urine production)
• medicines to lower blood pressure
• antibiotics (if a bacterial infection is causing glomerulonephritis)
• steroids and other drugs that suppress the immune system (if an immune system problem is causing glomerulonephritis)
• 在严重的情况下，肾透析

Chronic glomerulonephritis is a condition that either fails to respond to treatment or keeps coming back for months or even years. In these cases, doctors may recommend lifestyle changes to minimize further damage to the kidneys and slow the progression of the disease.

Lifestyle changes that can help kids with chronic glomerulonephritis include:

• 在限制蛋白质，钾和盐摄入时吃健康的饮食
• 获得大量的运动（2岁以上的孩子每天至少1小时）
• reducing fluid intake
• taking calcium supplements

外表

In most cases of acute glomerulonephritis, the damage to the glomeruli will eventually heal. The length of time it takes depends on what caused the glomerulonephritis, how long it lasted, and when treatment began.

In rare cases, glomerulonephritis can lead to kidney failure that requires dialysis or a肾脏移植. Fortunately, most kids will never need those procedures and will be able to play sports, participate in favorite activities, and lead perfectly normal lives.

Reviewed by:Robert S. Mathias, MD
Date reviewed: May 2013