S.W had many contributing factors that played into the development of her Acute Kidney injury. The first one was the original virus that caused an insult to her kidney by depleting the fluid volume in her circulating system. However her preexisting conditions had already caused damage to her kidneys, which made them more susceptible to this insult.
Dirkes (2013) defines a AKI as an a very sudden decline the in the function of a kidney. This sudden decline causes disruptions in acid base balance, loss of kidney function, electrolyte shits, and general fluid balance. AKI is a term that is used to describe a wide variety of impairments that occur to the kidney according to Lewis, Dirksen, Heitkemper, Bucher (2012). There are several stages that …show more content…
The source of injury or impairment comes from either a prerenal, intrarenal, or postrenal source. In the case of S.W. her source of injury was a prerenal source. S.W. had been suffering from a virus that had caused excessive vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration, which caused her kidneys to take a hit. Her kidneys were being hypo perfused due to the decreased circulating volume.
S.W.’s Blood Urea Nitrogen level (BUN), and Creatinine were elevated. BUN is a measurement of how much urea and nitrogen are in the blood. When the kidney’s stop filtering these toxins out it is an indication that kidney is losing its ability to filter. Creatinine is a byproduct of muscle breakdown. This is also an indication that the kidney is not filtering properly. Both of these labs are elevated during an acute kidney injury and during kidney failure. This is an indication of her diagnosis of an Acute Kidney Injury.
The current medications that S.W. is on for her depression have the potential to cause further damage to her kidneys. Benicar and Cymbalta are both metabolized in the kidney. Benicar also inhibits the angiotensin system, which is directly operated by the kidneys. Cymbalta is metabolized in the kidney and this put excess work on an already damaged