Acute tubular necrosis
Alternative Names
Necrosis - renal tubular; ATN; Necrosis - acute tubularSymptoms
- Decreased consciousness
- Decreased urine output or no urine output
- General swelling, fluid retention
- Nausea, vomiting
Note: Other symptoms of acute kidney failure may also be present.
Exams and Tests
Examination usually indicates acute kidney failure. There may be signs of fluid overload, including abnormal sounds on listening to the heart and lungs with a stethoscope (auscultation).
Other signs include:
- BUN and serum creatinine levels may increase
- Fractional excretion of sodium and of urea may be relatively high
- Kidney biopsy may show acute tubular necrosis (but a biopsy is rarely done)
- Urinalysis may show casts, kidney tubular cells, and red blood cells
- Urine sodium may be high
- Urine specific gravity and osmolarity urine indicate dilute urine
References
Goldman L, Ausiello D.Goldman: Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders; 2008.
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