Pyelonephritis is an ascending urinary tract infection that has reached the pyelum (pelvis) of the kidney (nephros in Greek). If the infection is severe, the term "urosepsis" is used interchangeably (sepsis being a systemic inflammatory response syndrome due to infection). It requires antibiotics as therapy, and treatment of any underlying causes to prevent recurrence. It is a form of nephritis. It can also be called pyelitis.
It presents with d...
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Pyelonephritis is an ascending urinary tract infection that has reached the pyelum (pelvis) of the kidney (nephros in Greek). If the infection is severe, the term "urosepsis" is used interchangeably (sepsis being a systemic inflammatory response syndrome due to infection). It requires antibiotics as therapy, and treatment of any underlying causes to prevent recurrence. It is a form of nephritis. It can also be called pyelitis.
It presents with dysuria (painful voiding of urine), abdominal pain (radiating to the back on the affected side) and tenderness of the bladder area and the side of the involved kidney (costovertebral angle tenderness) which may be elicited by performing the kidney punch. In many cases there are systemic symptoms in the form of fever, rigors (violent shivering while the temperature rises), headache, and vomiting. In severe cases, delirium may be present.
Severe cases of pyelonephritis lead to sepsis, a systemic response to infection characterized by fever, a...
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