What is latent nephritis and what causes it? What should we pay attention to?

With the accelerated pace of modern life, many diseases are becoming younger and more common. Kidney disease is undoubtedly a very troublesome disease. So what is the cause of latent nephritis?

What is latent nephritis and what causes it?

Latent nephritis is a manifestation of chronic glomerulonephritis. Its prominent feature is that the patient does not have any clinical symptoms, but only abnormal urine routine tests, such as positive urine protein test, positive urine occult blood test, persistent or recurrent microscopic hematuria, and a large number of abnormal red blood cells visible under phase contrast microscopy. If a renal puncture examination is performed, pathological changes in the renal tissue structure may be found, such as glomerular mesangial proliferation, minimal change disease, mesangial proliferative nephritis, focal segmental proliferative nephritis, etc. This disease is more common in adolescents, with the age of onset mostly between 10 and 30 years old, and rarely seen over 40 years old. It is more common in males than in females. The onset is insidious, and features of glomerulonephritis such as edema and hypertension are often absent. Bilateral nonspecific lumbar pain may be the only symptom in the medical history. The main symptom is abnormal urine test. Many patients are found out by chance during routine urine test, or are confirmed for the first time by urine test due to cold or fever, or are found out during physical examination.

Since the occurrence and development of latent nephritis is very hidden, the disease cannot be detected early, and most patients with latent nephritis lose the opportunity for timely treatment. Some patients develop renal failure or even uremia after several years (or even more than ten years or even decades) of latent development. In clinical practice, we often see that many patients enter the stage of chronic renal failure once they are discovered. When asked about their medical history, patients often deny having ever had nephritis. Among these patients who suddenly develop chronic renal failure, quite a number of them are suffering from latent nephritis. If it is detected and treated early, renal failure can be avoided.

Regular urine tests

How can you find out in time whether you have latent nephritis? You should have regular urine tests. So that patients with latent nephritis can be discovered and treated in time.

The incidence of latent nephritis is higher among children and adolescents, and parents should pay close attention to their children. A simple way is: if there is a lot of foam after urinating, like beer or laundry detergent water, and the foam does not dissipate for a long time, it may be a sign of proteinuria; if the color of urine is like meat washing water or tea, it is gross hematuria. You should go to the hospital for examination in time and do renal puncture if necessary for diagnosis.

Daily precautions for patients with latent nephritis:

1. Actively control and prevent inducing factors, especially upper respiratory tract infections or viral infections, and remove the infection foci to reduce the factors that worsen nephritis.

2. Avoid excessive fatigue to reduce the recurrence of the disease.

3. Try to avoid using various drugs that are harmful to the kidneys. For those patients who have been followed up for a long time and have a small amount of proteinuria, microscopic hematuria, and normal renal function in urine examination, try using hormone plus immunosuppressant treatment, which may achieve certain results. Other medicines such as pansantin and traditional Chinese medicine can also be used according to the condition of the disease.