NEPHRITIS

Nephritis
General term for inflammatory diseases of the kidney. Although many types of nephritis exist, the most common form is glomerulonephritis, or Bright's disease. In the U.S., nephritis ranks high among the diseases that are a direct cause of death. Patients with acute nephritis generally recover, particularly children. A small percentage of cases result in chronic nephritis, which tends to be a progressive disease that gradually destroys the kidney.
Patients with acute nephritis often have a history of a streptococcal infection such as strep throat a few weeks before the onset of nephritis. The disease is characterized by fatigue, appetite loss, facial puffiness, abdominal or flank pain, and scanty, smoky, dark urine.
Chronic nephritis usually presents no symptoms, but the urine will be found to contain albumin and, on microscopic examination, red blood cells. When there is an advanced destruction of kidney tissue with grossly impaired kidney function, patients may develop high blood pressure and die of kidney or heart failure.
In recent years, techniques such as dialysis have been successful in removing poisons that accumulate in the blood of patients with kidney failure. Improvement in kidney transplantation techniques has given hope to patients in the last stage of nephritis.