What is acquired cystic kidney disease?
Acquired cystic kidney disease happens when a person’s kidneys develop fluid-filled sacs, called cysts, over time. Acquired cystic kidney disease is not the same as polycystic kidney disease (PKD), another disease that causes the kidneys to develop multiple cysts.
What are the differences between acquired cystic kidney disease and polycystic kidney disease?
Acquired cystic kidney disease differs from PKD in several ways. Unlike acquired cystic kidney disease, PKD is a genetic, or inherited, disorder that can cause complications such as high blood pressure and problems with blood vessels in the brain and heart.
What causes acquired cystic kidney disease?
Researchers do not fully understand what causes cysts to grow in the kidneys of people with CKD. The fact that these cysts occur only in the kidneys and not in other parts of the body, as in PKD, indicates that the processes that lead to cyst formation take place primarily inside the kidneys.2
What are the signs and symptoms of acquired cystic kidney disease?
A person with acquired cystic kidney disease often has no symptoms. However, the complications of acquired cystic kidney disease can have signs and symptoms.
Medical History
Taking a medical history may help a health care provider diagnose acquired cystic kidney disease. A health care provider may suspect acquired cystic kidney disease if a person who has been on dialysis for several years develops symptoms such as fever, back pain, or blood in the urine.
Imaging Tests
To confirm the diagnosis, the health care provider may order one or more imaging tests. A radiologist—a doctor who specializes in medical imaging—interprets the images from these tests, and the patient does not need anesthesia.
How is acquired cystic kidney disease treated?
If acquired cystic kidney disease is not causing complications, a person does not need treatment. A health care provider will treat infections with antibiotics—medications that kill bacteria. If large cysts are causing pain, a health care provider may drain the cyst using a long needle inserted into the cyst through the skin.
When a surgeon transplants a new kidney into a patient’s body to treat kidney failure, acquired cystic kidney disease in the damaged kidneys, which usually remain in place after a transplant, often disappears.
A surgeon may perform an operation to remove tumors or suspected tumors. In rare cases, a surgeon performs an operation to stop cysts from bleeding.
Eating, Diet, and Nutrition
No specific diet will prevent or delay acquired cystic kidney disease. In general, a diet designed for people on hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis reduces the amount of wastes that accumulate in the body between dialysis sessions.
More information is provided in the NIDDK health topics, Eating & Nutrition for Hemodialysis and Nutrition for Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease in Adults.
Clinical Trials
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and other components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) conduct and support research into many diseases and conditions.
What are clinical trials, and are they right for you?
Clinical trials are part of clinical research and at the heart of all medical advances. Clinical trials look at new ways to prevent, detect, or treat disease. Researchers also use clinical trials to look at other aspects of care, such as improving the quality of life for people with chronic illnesses. Find out if clinical trials are right for you NIH external link.