The Diagnosis of Acquired Cystic Kidney Disease

Cystic lesions are found in ultrasound examination or CT

As patients with Acquired Cystic Kidney Disease usually have no obvious symptoms, regular checkups are important for patients with Kidney Failure or on dialysis for over three years. At present, ultrasound examination or CT is enough sensitive and high-resolution that they can found cysts of 3cm. On being found, three cysts, 2cm to 3cm, have existed in kidneys at least.

Excluding Polycystic Kidney Disease

More than 90 percent cases are Polycystic Kidney Disease which is hereditary. Patients with PKD usually have family members with the same disease. However, Acquired Cystic Kidney Disease is not genetic. The patients have no similar history of cysts in their families. What’s more, PKD is associated with enlarged kidneys and cyst formation in other parts of the body. In Acquired Cystic Kidney Disease, the kidneys are normal sized or smaller and cysts do not form in other parts of the body.

The possibly of canceration

Polycystic Kidney Disease will not develop into renal carcinoma, but about 16 percent cases of Acquired Cystic Kidney Disease may deteriorate into canceration. In renipuncture, cystic cells can be distinguished from cancerous cells. Clinically, symptoms in Acquired Cystic Kidney Disease are flank pain, blood in urine and lumps in waist, but the obvious symptoms of Kidney Cancer are fever, anemia and faster ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate), etc. which are also often mistaken as Uremia in diagnosis.