How should acute nephritis be treated?

Written by Li Liu Sheng
Nephrology
Updated on January 10, 2025
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Patients with acute nephritis generally have a good prognosis after reasonable and standardized treatment, and rarely develop into chronic nephritis. The main means of treating acute nephritis is symptomatic supportive care, requiring patients to rest in bed during the acute phase. At the same time, spicy food should be avoided and salt intake should be appropriately controlled. If the patient has an infection, sensitive antibiotics should be actively selected for treatment. Additionally, diuretics can be appropriately used for patients with edema, and if the patient also has hypertension, antihypertensive drugs may be used to keep blood pressure within an appropriate range. Of course, some severe cases of acute nephritis may lead to heart failure or renal failure, in which case dialysis should be actively pursued. (Specific medication use should be carried out under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Written by Li Liu Sheng
Nephrology
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Symptoms of acute nephritis include back pain.

Patients with acute nephritis usually have hematuria as their main symptom. Initially, the condition presents as gross hematuria, but within 1-2 days, the patient transitions to microscopic hematuria, and the gross hematuria disappears. Patients may also experience edema, particularly noticeable in the eyelids and facial area upon waking up in the morning, along with varying degrees of increased urine protein. Typically, acute nephritis patients may also experience nausea, vomiting, abdominal distension, and discomfort in the lower back, but not back pain per se, as back pain is not a symptom of acute nephritis. However, if a patient with acute nephritis does develop back pain, it is crucial to rule out other diseases, such as kidney stones, ureteral stones, acute pyelonephritis, and acute renal infarction, all of which can cause sudden back pain in patients with acute nephritis. Back pain should be taken seriously, and appropriate exams, such as an immediate ultrasound, should be conducted.

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Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
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Does acute nephritis cause fever?

Acute nephritis is actually a sterile inflammation, with significant proliferation of cells within the glomeruli, primarily related to immune dysfunction. Therefore, from this perspective, acute nephritis does not show symptoms of fever. However, due to the inflammatory response within the glomeruli causing acute nephritis, patients may experience renal failure. In the state of renal failure, the patient's immune capability further decreases, which could lead to complications from infections, with respiratory infections being the most common, including pneumonia, bronchitis, and acute tonsillitis. These inflammations may cause fever, but this fever is not a direct result of the acute nephritis itself.

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Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
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Is acute nephritis contagious?

Acute nephritis is not contagious. Acute nephritis generally occurs after a patient has a bacterial inflammation of the respiratory tract, such as infections by streptococcus, staphylococcus, and other bacteria affecting the respiratory tract, urinary tract, digestive tract, or skin. This leads to a secondary inflammatory response. These inflammatory immune complexes travel through the bloodstream to the kidneys, causing an inflammatory reaction within the organ. It could also be due to the deposition of immune complexes within the glomeruli, leading to glomerular damage. This disease itself is not contagious. Although these bacteria exist as triggers, they typically do not have the capability to infect other patients. Moreover, even if they were to infect others, it would not necessarily lead to nephritis.

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Written by Li Liu Sheng
Nephrology
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acute nephritis symptoms

Acute nephritis is commonly seen in children and occurs more in males than females. It typically begins one to three weeks after an infection, mainly due to a post-streptococcal infection. The main symptom of acute nephritis is the appearance of edema, which is often an initial manifestation. Typically, this includes swelling of the eyelids in the morning, sometimes accompanied by mild swelling of the lower limbs. In addition, a urinalysis of patients might reveal blood, which can appear as either gross hematuria or microscopic hematuria. Furthermore, some patients with acute nephritis may also experience elevated blood pressure, primarily related to the edema. If managed through diuretic treatment, conditions may gradually return to normal. In severe cases of acute nephritis, symptoms can include dizziness, hypertensive encephalopathy, and even reduced urine output leading to acute kidney failure. Therefore, it is crucial to give significant attention to patients with acute nephritis and treat them actively to avoid severe complications.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Li Liu Sheng
Nephrology
53sec home-news-image

How should acute nephritis be treated?

Patients with acute nephritis generally have a good prognosis after reasonable and standardized treatment, and rarely develop into chronic nephritis. The main means of treating acute nephritis is symptomatic supportive care, requiring patients to rest in bed during the acute phase. At the same time, spicy food should be avoided and salt intake should be appropriately controlled. If the patient has an infection, sensitive antibiotics should be actively selected for treatment. Additionally, diuretics can be appropriately used for patients with edema, and if the patient also has hypertension, antihypertensive drugs may be used to keep blood pressure within an appropriate range. Of course, some severe cases of acute nephritis may lead to heart failure or renal failure, in which case dialysis should be actively pursued. (Specific medication use should be carried out under the guidance of a doctor.)