Contents:
- Medical Video: Sophia's Kidney Dialysis at Hopkins Children's
- Simple kidney cyst
- Complex kidney cysts
- Multicystic dysplastic kidney
- Polycystic kidney disease
- Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease
- Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease
- Physical activity & children with kidney cyst disease
- Prospects for children with kidney cysts
Medical Video: Sophia's Kidney Dialysis at Hopkins Children's
Kidney cysts are round fluid sacs that form in the kidney and are usually less than 2.5 cm in diameter. Kidney cysts are different from cysts that develop when a person has polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a genetic disease.
Simple kidney cyst
Simple kidney cysts often detected during imaging tests (for example, ultrasound, CT, MRI) are performed for other conditions, because they rarely cause pain or other symptoms. It is unclear what causes these simple kidney cysts, even though the risk increases with age. Simple kidney cysts in children are rare.
Complex kidney cysts
While cysts are generally simple fluid bags, they can have several spaces. These cysts are called complexes, or septated. Septations is the inner wall of the cyst. Has lots or thickness septations walled indicates a low risk of cancer. If the cyst is complex, the doctor may repeat the imaging test several months later to make sure the cyst does not grow and become cancerous.
Multicystic dysplastic kidney
Multicystic dysplastic kidney /multicystic dysplastic kidney (MCDK) is a condition that occurs when the kidneys are not properly joined when formed in the uterus. The result is that the kidneys are not functioning and are full of cysts and scar tissue. Fortunately, the remaining kidneys are usually able to take over all kidney function. In infants with MCDK, the remaining kidney may have abnormalities. Your doctor may do more tests to evaluate this kidney.
Incident: MCDK affects 1 in every 4,000 babies.
Diagnosis: 70% of MCDK cases are diagnosed with ultrasound before the baby is born.
Prevention: There is no way to prevent MCDK from happening at the beginning of a baby's development, and there is no known way to prevent it from happening later.
Conclusion: A baby with MCDK and no other birth defects has normal life expectancy. For children with only one kidney working, the kidney may be slightly larger than usual. The child will need follow-up care to ensure the kidneys stay healthy.
Polycystic kidney disease
Kidney cysts can also be caused by genetic mutations. The most common form of this is PKD, where cysts can replace the kidneys over time and cause kidney failure. There are two forms: autosomal dominant (ADPKD) and autosomal recessive (ARPKD).
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease
Large kidney cysts associated with ADPKD. They often appear in childhood, although most affected children and adolescents have no symptoms until they are adults.
Incident: ADPKD affects 1 in 500 people. Usually there is a family history with ADPKD. Parents with ADPKD have a 50% chance of reducing disease in their children.
Symptoms: Often the first sign is high blood pressure, the presence of blood in the urine, or a feeling of heaviness or pain in the back, sides of the body, or stomach. Sometimes, the first sign is a urinary tract infection (UTI) and / or kidney stones.
Diagnosis: Children with a family history of ADPKD must carry out periodic urine analysis and blood pressure measurements to identify the initial manifestations of this disease. It is not recommended for healthy children and adolescents to do kidney imaging tests, regardless of whether parents have ADPKD or not. One reason is that it can affect the child's condition, even if there are no symptoms. Routine genetic testing of potentially affected children and adolescents is also not recommended. Note: this recommendation can change with progress in the treatment of ADPKD.
Conclusion: Currently there is no therapy to prevent cysts from forming or enlarging.
Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease
Enlarged kidneys with small cysts associated with ARPDK. Sometimes, the shape of the kidneys can be quite large but function poorly until the baby is born with severe respiratory problems and cannot survive.
Incident: ARPKD is relatively rare and occurs in 1 in 20,000 people.
Diagnosis: Most ARPKD cases are diagnosed with ultrasound before the baby is born.
Conclusion: Most children with ARPKD have high blood pressure and progressive kidney failure. They need to do kidney dialysis and / or receive a kidney transplant at the end of their childhood to survive. A number of these children will also develop liver disease, which causes esophageal bleeding and ultimately affects liver failure.
Physical activity & children with kidney cyst disease
Large cysts can rupture with minor trauma and cause blood in the urine and frequent severe bleeding. Your pediatrician will help decide whether physical activity should be limited. It is possible that children with large kidneys and / or large cysts will have more episodes of blood in the urine if they exercise heavily, such as soccer.
Prospects for children with kidney cysts
The number of cysts that children have affects their signs and symptoms. In most children, kidney cysts grow very slowly, and do not cause problems. Therefore, no treatment is needed.
If the cyst becomes very large, this can cause pain on the side of the body or stomach or interfere with kidney function. However, surgery is rarely needed for cysts. Usually, cysts are removed or dried if they are infected and do not respond well to antibiotics or cause significant pain. A nephrologist pediatric and pediatric urologists work together to decide whether to remove kidney cysts.
Note: Surgery can only remove a number of cysts in children with cystic kidney disease. After surgery, small cysts can continue to grow. This means surgery is not the final treatment and further treatment is needed for long-term care.
