Essential Information about renal tubular acidosis
Renal tubular acidosis is a condition or a disease in which kidney became incapable to take out acid out of the blood and put the acid in the urine that makes the urine acidic in nature. Renal acidosis is a syndrome that causes hypercloremia, hypokalemia, metabolic acidosis and nephrocalcinosis. This disease results when kidney became incapable to save bicarbonate and this disorder is classified as proximal or distal.
Distal Renal Acidosis
It occurs in two different stages
1- Primary renal tubular acidosis
This is common among women, older children, young adults and adolescents. This disease may be the result of any hereditary defect
2- Secondary renal tubular acidosis
This has been related to many renal conditions like hepatic cirrhosis, malnutrition and starvation.
Proximal Renal Acidosis
It also occurs in two forms and it is a result of disorder that is Fanconi’s syndrome
1-Primary proximal renal tubular acidosis
The only disorder present in it is idiopathic that is a reabsorbtive defect
2-Secondary proximal renal tubular acidosis
This occurs when the proximal tubular cell is damaged.
Symptoms of Renal Acidosis
The symptoms of this disease is not similar they are different because of type of renal acidosis and cause of renal tubular acidosis. Still there are some symptoms that warn you about this disease like – you will suffer from fatigue, bone diseases, stones in kidney, impairment of growth, and irregularity in heat beats, extreme weakness, muscle pain or cramping. Therefore, if you are facing these symptoms they take an appointment from your doctor as soon as possible.
Causes of Renal Acidosis
Many factors lead to this disease like the diseases that are inherited in nature, autoimmune diseases, and certain drugs like lupus.
Types of renal acidosis
There are four types of renal tubular acidosis :-
- Type 1 – also known as classic distal renal tubular acidosis
- Type2 – also called proximal renal tubular acidosis
- Type 3 – very rare and it is thought to be the combination of type 1 and type 2
- Type 4 – caused by the defect in the distal tubule and it is different from classic distal RTA and proximal RTA because it causes high level of potassium in the blood
How Renal Acidosis is diagnosed
The best way to diagnose this disease is to check acid-base balance in the sample of your urine or blood. If the urine is less acidic then it should normally be and the blood is more acidic then it should normally be then doctor will also check the level of chloride, sodium and potassium in the urine and the level of potassium in blood. Demonstration of systemic metabolic acidosis with impaired urine acidification will help to confirms that a person is suffering from distal renal tubular acidosis. Display of bicarbonate wasting occurred because of impaired reabsorbion confirm proximal renal acidosis and an ammonium chloride loading test helps to understand that from which type of renal tubular acidosis a person is suffering from.