Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) Quiz
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Not urinating much
Passing much less urine than normal
Loss of appetite
Fatigued
Swelling
Passing slightly less urine than usual
Swollen feet
Not seeing your symptoms? No worries!
What is Acute Kidney Injury (AKI)?
Acute kidney (renal) failure happens when the kidneys suddenly can't filter waste products from the blood. This can cause dangerous waste levels to build up and the blood's chemical balance to be disrupted. Acute kidney failure can be life-threatening and it usually develops over a few hours or days.
Typical Symptoms of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI)
- Having difficulty urinating or producing less urine
- Recently started a new medication, from 3 days to 1 month ago
- History of chemotherapy in the last one year
- Passing much less urine than normal
- Unintentional weight gain of more than 4.4lbs/2kg in a month
- Seizure
- History of sudden episode of kidney failure or kidney damage
- Swelling in any body part
Diagnostic Questions for Acute Kidney Injury (AKI)
Your doctor may ask these questions to check for this disease:
- Have you been experiencing difficulty urinating or producing less urine?
- Have you started a new medication recently?
- Did you have cancer treatment in the past year?
- Are you urinating less than usual?
- Have you gained more than 4.4lbs/2kg in one month without trying?
Treatment of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI)
Treatment for acute kidney failure involves identifying and treating the illness or injury that initially damaged the kidneys. It's also important to manage complications and give the kidneys time to heal.
Reviewed By:
Unnati Patel, MD, MSc (Family Medicine)
Dr.Patel serves as Center Medical Director and a Primary Care Physician at Oak Street Health in Arizona. She graduated from the Zhejiang University School of Medicine prior to working in clinical research focused on preventive medicine at the University of Illinois and the University of Nevada. Dr. Patel earned her MSc in Global Health from Georgetown University, during which she worked with the WHO in Sierra Leone and Save the Children in Washington, D.C. She went on to complete her Family Medicine residency in Chicago at Norwegian American Hospital before completing a fellowship in Leadership in Value-based Care in conjunction with the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, where she earned her MBA. Dr. Patel’s interests include health tech and teaching medical students and she currently serves as Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Arizona School of Medicine.
Yoshinori Abe, MD (Internal Medicine)
Dr. Abe graduated from The University of Tokyo School of Medicine in 2015. He completed his residency at the Tokyo Metropolitan Health and Longevity Medical Center. He co-founded Ubie, Inc. in May 2017, where he currently serves as CEO & product owner at Ubie. Since December 2019, he has been a member of the Special Committee for Activation of Research in Emergency AI of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine. | | Dr. Abe has been elected in the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Healthcare & Science category.
Content updated on Jan 14, 2025
Following the Medical Content Editorial Policy
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People with similar symptoms also use Ubie's symptom checker to find possible causes
- Decreased urine output
- Not peeing enough
- Drinking lots of water but not urinating much
- No urine output in 12 hours
- Unexplained weight gain
- Urinating less than normal
- Very difficult to urinate
- Reduction in urine volume
- Unable to empty bladder completely
- Experienced sudden weight gain without a clear reason
- Unintentional weight gain of more than 4.4lbs/2kg
- Significant weight gain over the last month
- I gained more than 5% of my weight in one month
See full list
Symptoms Related to Acute Kidney Injury (AKI)
Diseases Related to Acute Kidney Injury (AKI)
FAQs
Q.
Is It Kidney Pain? Why Your Kidneys Struggle & Medically Approved Next Steps
A.
Kidney pain is usually a deep ache in the flank under the ribs that can radiate to the abdomen or groin, and red flags like fever, blood in the urine, severe or one-sided pain, vomiting, or little urine require prompt medical care. There are several factors to consider; see below to understand how kidney infections, stones, acute kidney injury, and chronic kidney disease present differently. Medically approved next steps include not self diagnosing, getting blood, urine, and imaging tests, reviewing medications that can stress the kidneys, keeping sensible hydration, and tightly managing diabetes and blood pressure, especially if you have risk factors like older age, NSAID use, or heart disease. Complete details and decision points that can affect your next steps are outlined below.
References:
* Eisenstein RA, Geller SP. Acute Flank Pain: A Systematic Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2014 Aug;32(3):575-88. doi: 10.1016/j.emc.2014.04.004. PMID: 25060233.
* Kerns JL, Holden RM, Rosner MH. Chronic Kidney Disease: An Overview. Am Fam Physician. 2020 Feb 15;101(4):216-224. PMID: 32053123.
* Limdi VK, Bell C, Krouss M, Bakhit T, Singh A. Acute Kidney Injury: A Narrative Review. Mayo Clin Proc. 2023 Nov;98(11):1733-1748. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2023.06.015. PMID: 37923485.
* Levin A, Tonelli M, Bonventre JV, Coresh J, Davids MR, Dong J, Gansevoort RT, Gill JS, Jardine MJ, Kane-Gill SL, Kirwan JP, Komenda P, Layman DL, Luo N, Ma S, Manns B, Montez-Rath ME, Murty S, Naganathan S, Ong AC, Poggio ED, Saxena AB, Schmid H, Sharma K, Smith SC Jr, Srivastava A, Waikar SS, Wheeler DC, Zoccali C, Eknoyan G. Chronic kidney disease: global perspectives and future directions. Nat Rev Nephrol. 2023 Mar;19(3):171-185. doi: 10.1038/s41581-022-00669-7. PMID: 36627497.
* Horn JM, Kim ED, Lee KS. Kidney Stones: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Urol Clin North Am. 2019 Aug;46(3):281-291. doi: 10.1016/j.ucl.2019.04.004. PMID: 31279262.
Q.
Kidney Pain? Why Your Kidneys Are Failing & Medically Approved Important Next Steps
A.
Kidney pain can signal a reversible acute kidney injury or chronic kidney disease; doctors confirm with creatinine, eGFR, urinalysis, and imaging, especially when symptoms like fever, vomiting, urinary changes, swelling, or very low urine are present. Important next steps include seeking prompt care, getting blood and urine tests, reviewing medications, controlling blood pressure and blood sugar, staying hydrated, adopting kidney friendly habits, and seeing a nephrologist when appropriate. There are several factors to consider; see below to understand more, including when to seek emergency care and how AKI vs CKD affect treatment and dialysis decisions.
References:
* Webster AC, Nagler EV, Morton RL, et al. Chronic kidney disease. Lancet. 2017 Jan 21;389(10064):123-133. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)32064-5. Epub 2016 Oct 27. PMID: 27806899.
* Ronco C, Bellomo R, Kellum JA. Acute kidney injury. Lancet. 2019 Jun 22;393(10190):2618-2630. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30259-3. Epub 2019 Jun 10. PMID: 31196422.
* Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) CKD Work Group. KDIGO 2012 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Chronic Kidney Disease. Kidney Int Suppl. 2013 Jan;3(1):1-150. PMID: 23378252.
* Wong MG, Abeyaratne G, Langham RG. Symptoms in chronic kidney disease and their relationship to patient-reported quality of life. J Ren Care. 2016 Sep;42(3):144-51. doi: 10.1111/jren.12188. Epub 2015 Oct 13. PMID: 26462788.
* Chawla LS, Kimmel PL. Acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease: an integrated clinical syndrome. Kidney Int. 2012 May;81(9):839-45. doi: 10.1038/ki.2012.2. Epub 2012 Feb 1. PMID: 22297746; PMCID: PMC3667448.
Q.
Are there antibiotics that can harm the kidneys?
A.
Yes, some antibiotics can damage the kidneys, which is called nephrotoxicity. See below to understand more.
References:
Savoldi S. (2012). [Kidney damage by antibiotics and chemotherapy]. Giornale italiano di nefrologia : organo ufficiale della Societa italiana di nefrologia, 23059939.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23059939/
Campbell RE, Chen CH, & Edelstein CL. (2023). Overview of Antibiotic-Induced Nephrotoxicity. Kidney international reports, 38025228.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38025228/
Morales-Alvarez MC. (2020). Nephrotoxicity of Antimicrobials and Antibiotics. Advances in chronic kidney disease, 32146999.
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Link to full study:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.08.29.24312810v1References
Lameire N, Van Biesen W, Vanholder R. Acute renal failure. Lancet. 2005 Jan 29-Feb 4;365(9457):417-30. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)17831-3. PMID: 15680458.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(05)17831-3/abstractBellomo R. Acute renal failure. Semin Respir Crit Care Med. 2011 Oct;32(5):639-50. doi: 10.1055/s-0031-1287872. Epub 2011 Oct 11. PMID: 21989699.
https://www.thieme-connect.de/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/s-0031-1287872Boydstun II. Acute renal failure. Adolesc Med Clin. 2005 Feb;16(1):1-9, ix. doi: 10.1016/j.admecli.2004.09.002. PMID: 15844380.
https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1547336804000695Acute Kidney Injury - National Kidney Foundation
https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/AcuteKidneyInjury#:~:text=Acute%20kidney%20injury%20(AKI)%2C,of%20fluid%20in%20your%20body.