Chronic kidney disease monitoring at Plymouth Hospital

Chronic kidney disease occurs when this filtering function decreases or when there is evidence of kidney damage or a structural abnormality of your kidney.

Damaged kidneys may cause a leakage of protein and/or blood into your urine. Symptoms can range from mild (with minimal or no symptoms) to end-stage renaldisease requiring a kidney transplant. Left untreated, kidney disease can cause a major imbalance in critical minerals your body needs to function.

People who have certain risk factors should be tested for chronic kidney disease including:

• Patients who have diabetes (Types 1 and 2)
• Patients who have high blood pressure (hypertension) 
• Patients who have coronary heart disease
• Patients who have kidney disease, kidney stones or enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hypertrophy – BPH)
• Patients with diseases that involve multiple organs with potential kidney involvement, such as systemic lupus erythematosus
• People with a family history of chronic kidney disease stage 5 or hereditary kidney disease
• Those taking nephrotoxic drugs such as lithium, cyclosporin, diuretics, and long-term non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) drugs.

Your consultant will recommend this assessment based on your own medical history.