PROTEINURIA

Course overview

PROTEINURIA IS A VERY COMMON FINDING IN OUTPATIENT AS WELL AS INPATIENT SETTINGS. ANY SUCH RESULTS WARRANT FURTHER INVESTIGATION, ESPECIALLY IN THE SETTING OF COMORBIDITY. GIVEN THE RISING TRENDS OF DIABETES, PROTEINURIA PREVALENCE IS ON THE RISE. THE PRIMARY ETIOLOGY OF PROTEINURIA IS THE DISTURBANCE IN THE KIDNEY FILTER. IN ADDITION TO ITS ASSOCIATION WITH EARLY RENAL DISEASE, IT IS ALSO SEEN IN BENIGN CONDITIONS. PROTEINURIA HAS NOW ALSO BEEN USED ALONG WITH THE ESTIMATED GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE (EGFR) IN THE CLASSIFICATION OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD). PROTEINURIA CAN SERVE AS AN INDICATOR OF EARLY RENAL DISEASE. IT MARKS AN INCREASED RISK OF RENAL DAMAGE SECONDARY TO HYPERTENSION AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. THE DEGREE OF PROTEINURIA CORRELATES WITH DISEASE PROGRESSION. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT OF PROTEINURIA AND EXPLAINS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN IMPROVING CARE FOR PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.