Pyelonephritis classification
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Classification
There are four different types of pyelonephritis:
- Acute Pyelonephritis
- Acute pyelonephritis is a common clinical diagnosis in patients who present with fever, chills, and flank tenderness.
- Infections typically result from ascending retrograde spread through the collecting ducts into the renal parenchyma.
- Patients are referred for CT evaluation of acute pyelonephritis when symptoms are poorly localized or complications are suspected.
- Chronic Pyelonephritis
- Chronic pyelonephritis is a somewhat controversial disease from a pathogenetic standpoint. It is unclear that, whether it is an active chronic infection, arises from multiple recurrent infections, or represents stable changes from a remote single infection.
- Hypertension is frequently a long-term sequela.
- Emphysematous Pyelonephritis
- Emphysematous pyelonephritis represents a severe life-threatening infection (overall mortality rate of approximately 50%) of the renal parenchyma with gas-forming bacteria.
- Underlying poorly controlled diabetes mellitus is present in up to 90% of patients who develop emphysematous pyelonephritis.
- Patients present clinically with varying degrees of renal failure, lethargy, acid-base irregularities, and hyperglycemia.
- E coli is the causative bacterial source in approximately 70% of cases
- Xanthogranulomatous Pyelonephritis
- Xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis (XGP) is a rare inflammatory condition usually secondary to chronic obstruction caused by nephrolithiasis and resulting in infection and irreversible destruction of the renal parenchyma.
- XGP is associated with a staghorn calculus in approximately 70% of cases.
- Patients with diabetes are particularly predisposed to the formation of XGP.
- Treatment is nephrectomy.
- At histologic analysis, the inflammatory mass is composed of lipid-laden macrophages and chronic inflammatory cells.