Polycystic Kidney Disease

Polycystic kidney disease is an inherited kidney disease, whereby the abnormal genes causing the disease are passed down from the parents to their offspring.

The symptoms of PKD include:

• Blood in urine
• High blood pressure
• Pain in the back and sides
• Upper abdominal pain associated with liver and pancreatic cysts
• Urinary tract infection

There is currently no cure for PKD. Instead, treatment options aim to manage your symptoms and the complications associated with this disease. Depending on your condition, your doctor will suggest the treatment that suits you best. These include:

• High blood pressure control to delay the development of the disease and prevent subsequent kidney damage
• Increasing fluid intake to help dilute urine and therefore avoid the incidence of blood in the urine
• Kidney dialysis or a kidney transplant if your kidneys fail to remove excess fluid and waste from the body
• Management or surgical removal of brain aneurysms (bulging in brain arteries) to avoid aneurysm rupture and bleeding
• Painkillers to ease the chronic side and back pain, which is a common symptom of PKD
• Surgery to drain cysts if they are causing severe pain or blocking other organs and blood vessels
• Treatment of urinary tract infection using appropriate antibiotics