Symptoms of Renal Damages due to Hyperuricemia

The serious consequence of long term hyperuricemia is mainly gouty arthritis followed by renal damages. There are obvious symptoms in the joints while symptoms of renal damages are dormant and it usually takes more than 10 years to notice the signs of kidney impairments.

The abnormalities in urination of hyperuricemia nephropathy are mainly mild proteinuria and small amount of blood urine. In the early stage, there is decline of the renal concentration ability and then the glomerular filtration function will be affected. When complicated with such conditions as hypertension, diabetes, kidney cysts, atherosclerosis, amyloid, it can develop into renal failure. Hyperuricemia is one risk factor of cardiovascular disease since there are 25% to 35% primary hypertension cases have hyperuricemia.

When large amount of uric acid is filtered in the kidneys, the uric acid crystals will deposit in renal tubules, collecting duct and renal pelvis which will cause pressure to rise in the renal tubules and glomeruli and sharp fall of glomerular filtration rate. Clinical manifestations are increased output of uric acid, hematuria and proteinuria. With the progress of the illness conditions, there will be a series of symptoms including oliguria, anuria, back pain, nausea, vomiting, lethargy, etc. There is obvious increase of uric acid in both the blood and urine.

There are about 10% to 25% patients having kidney stones and the incidence is 200 times higher than healthy people. In case of 1000mg uric acid output, 20% will have stones in kidney and in case of 1100mg uric acid; nearly 50% can have kidney stones. The main symptoms are urinary tract obstruction and infections. A few patients can have bilateral renal colic and there will be hematuria, dysuria, and interruption of urinary stream or even anuresis.