Polycystic kidney disease
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Polycystic kidney disease
Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is an inherited disease that replaces normal kidney tissue with fluid-filled cysts. As a result, over a 30- to 40-year period, the kidney stops working.
While most cases of PKD are passed down through families, it may also develop from chronic kidney disease and occurs most often in people with kidney failure who have been on dialysis for a long time.
Symptoms of polycystic kidney disease include back and side pain, headache, urinary tract infections, and blood in the urine (hematuria).
There is no cure for PKD. Treatment includes antibiotics, medications and surgery to control pain, and dialysis or kidney transplant to treat kidney failure.
Credits
| Author | Jeannette Curtis |
| Author | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS |
| Editor | Kathleen M. Ariss, MS |
| Editor | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA |
| Associate Editor | Tracy Landauer |
| Associate Editor | Pat Truman |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
| Last Updated | May 25, 2007 |
| Last updated: | May 25, 2007 |
|---|---|
| Author: | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS |
| Reviewed By: | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
| Editors: | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman |
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