What are the serious symptoms of acute pyelonephritis?

The kidney is one of the most important organs in the human body. The function of the kidney is unique. It is the only organ that filters urine and other fluids in the body. Therefore, the health of the kidney function plays a decisive role in the safety of the body. In modern life, many people are busy and easily neglect the kidneys. As a result, kidney disease often becomes serious before they start to pay attention to treatment. There are many types of kidney diseases. Among them, acute pyelonephritis is a more serious one and requires immediate treatment. Otherwise, it will develop into an extremely serious kidney disease in a very short period of time. Let’s take a look at the serious symptoms of acute pyelonephritis.

Acute pyelonephritis refers to an acute infectious disease of the renal pelvic mucosa and renal parenchyma, mainly caused by infection with Escherichia coli, but also by Proteus, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The most serious complication of acute pyelonephritis is toxic shock.

1. General symptoms

High fever, chills, body temperature is mostly between 38℃ and 39℃, and can be as high as 40℃. Fever types vary, generally remittent, but can also be intermittent or prolonged, accompanied by headache, body aches, and profuse sweating when the fever subsides.

2. Urinary system symptoms

Patients have low back pain, which is mostly dull or sore with varying degrees. A few have abdominal colic, radiating along the ureter toward the bladder. During physical examination, there is tenderness at the upper ureteral point (the intersection of the outer edge of the rectus abdominis and the umbilical line) or the costal lumbar point (the intersection of the outer edge of the psoas major and the twelfth rib), and percussion pain in the renal area is positive. Patients often have bladder irritation symptoms such as frequent urination, urgency, and pain when urinating. In case of ascending infection, these symptoms may appear before systemic symptoms.

3. Gastrointestinal symptoms

There may be loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and some patients may have pain in the upper or middle abdomen.

4. Bacteremia and sepsis

Patients with symptomatic acute pyelonephritis may develop bacteremia during the course of their illness.

5. Shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)

6. Children

The urinary system symptoms in children are often not obvious. In addition to systemic symptoms such as high fever, they often have convulsions and seizures at the onset of the disease. Children under 2 years old may experience fever, vomiting, non-specific abdominal discomfort or restlessness.