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Most asymptomatic individuals with Gitelman syndrome can be monitored without medical treatment. Potassium and magnesium supplementation to normalize low blood levels of potassium and magnesium is the mainstay of treatment. Large doses of potassium and magnesium are often necessary to adequately replace the electrolytes lost in the urine. Diarrhea is a common side effect of oral magnesium which can make oral replacement difficult but dividing the dose to 3-4 times a day is better tolerated. Severe deficits of potassium and magnesium require intravenous replacement. If low blood potassium levels are not sufficiently replaced with oral replacement, aldosterone antagonists (such as spironolactone or eplerenone) or epithelial sodium channel blockers such as amiloride can be used to decrease urinary wasting of potassium.
This is relatively straightforward. It involves correction of the acidemia with oral sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate or potassium citrate. This will correct the acidemia and reverse bone demineralisation. Hypokalemia and urinary stone formation and nephrocalcinosis can be treated with potassium citrate tablets which not only replace potassium but also inhibit calcium excretion and thus do not exacerbate stone disease as sodium bicarbonate or citrate may do.
The main therapeutic approach to primary hyperoxaluria is still restricted to symptomatic treatment, i.e. kidney transplantation once the disease has already reached mature or terminal stages. However, through genomics and proteomics approaches, efforts are currently being made to elucidate the kinetics of AGXT folding which has a direct bearing on its targeting to appropriate subcellular localization. Secondary hyperoxaluria is much more common than primary hyperoxaluria, and should be treated by limiting dietary oxalate and providing calcium supplementation. A child with primary hyperoxaluria was treated with a liver and kidney transplant. A favorable outcome is more likely if a kidney transplant is complemented by a liver transplant, given the disease originates in the liver.
Idiopathic hypouricemia usually requires no treatment. In some cases, hypouricemia is a medical sign of an underlying condition that does require treatment. For example, if hypouricemia reflects high excretion of uric acid into the urine (hyperuricosuria) with its risk of uric acid nephrolithiasis, the hyperuricosuria may require treatment.
Treatment of LPI consists of protein-restricted diet and supplementation with oral citrulline. Citrulline is a neutral amino acid that improves the function of the urea cycle and allows sufficient protein intake without hyperammonemia. Under proper dietary control and supplementation, the majority of the LPI patients are able to have a nearly normal life. However, severe complications including pulmonary alveolar proteinosis and renal insufficiency may develop even with proper treatment.
Fertility appears to be normal in women, but mothers with LPI have an increased risk for complications during pregnancy and delivery.
Administration of cytidine monophosphate and uridine monophosphate reduces urinary orotic acid and ameliorates the anemia.
Administration of uridine, which is converted to UMP, will bypass the metabolic block and provide the body with a source of pyrimidine.
Uridine triacetate is a drug approved by FDA to be used in the treatment of hereditary orotic aciduria.
A high-protein diet can overcome the deficient transport of neutral amino acids in most patients. Poor nutrition leads to more frequent and more severe attacks of the disease, which is otherwise asymptomatic. All patients who are symptomatic are advised to use physical and chemical protection from sunlight: avoid excessive exposure to sunlight, wear protective clothing, and use chemical sunscreens with a SPF of 15 or greater. Patients also should avoid other aggravating factors, such as photosensitizing drugs, as much as possible. In patients with niacin deficiency and symptomatic disease, daily supplementation with nicotinic acid or nicotinamide reduces both the number and severity of attacks. Neurologic and psychiatric treatment is needed in patients with severe central nervous system involvement.
Increase the water intake to prevent oxalates to precipitate .
Minimize dietary intake of oxalates by restricting the intake of leafy vegetables , sesame seeds , tea , cocoa , beet root , spinach , rhubarb , etc.
Treatment centers on limiting intake of ammonia and increasing its excretion. Dietary protein, a metabolic source of ammonium, is restricted and caloric intake is provided by glucose and fat. Intravenous arginine (argininosuccinase deficiency) sodium phenylbutyrate and sodium benzoate (ornithine transcarbamoylase deficiency) are pharmacologic agents commonly used as adjunctive therapy to treat hyperammonemia in patients with urea cycle enzyme deficiencies. Sodium phenylbutyrate and sodium benzoate can serve as alternatives to urea for the excretion of waste nitrogen. Phenylbutyrate, which is the product of phenylacetate, conjugates with glutamine to form phenylacetylglutamine, which is excreted by the kidneys. Similarly, sodium benzoate reduces ammonia content in the blood by conjugating with glycine to form hippuric acid, which is rapidly excreted by the kidneys. A preparation containing sodium phenylacetate and sodium benzoate is available under the trade name Ammonul.
Acidification of the intestinal lumen using lactulose can decrease ammonia levels by protonating ammonia and trapping it in the stool. This is a treatment for hepatic encephalopathy.
Treatment of severe hyperammonemia (serum ammonia levels greater than 1000 μmol/L) should begin with hemodialysis if it is otherwise medically appropriate and tolerated.
Serum pH is neither safely or easily altered. Therapies that alter pH principally alter the pH of urine, to discourage a possible complication of uricosuric therapy: formation of uric acid kidney stones due to increased uric acid in the urine (see Nephrolithiasis). Dietary supplements that can be used to make the urine more alkaline include sodium bicarbonate, potassium citrate, magnesium citrate, and Shohl's Solution (now replaced by Bicitra). Medications that have a similar effect include acetazolamide.
Following Le Chatelier's principle, lowering the blood concentration of uric acid may permit any existing crystals of uric acid to be gradually dissolved into the blood, whence the dissolved uric acid can be excreted. Maintaining a lower blood concentration of uric acid similarly should reduce the formation of new crystals. If the person has chronic gout or known tophi, then large quantities of uric acid crystals may have accumulated in joints and other tissues, and aggressive and/or long duration use of medications may be needed.
Medications most often used to treat hyperuricemia are of two kinds: xanthine oxidase inhibitors and uricosurics. Xanthine oxidase inhibitors decrease the production of uric acid, by interfering with xanthine oxidase. Uricosurics increase the excretion of uric acid, by reducing the reabsorption of uric acid once the kidneys have filtered it out of the blood. Some of these medications are used as indicated, others are used off-label. Several other kinds of medications have potential for use in treating hyperuricemia. In people receiving hemodialysis, sevelamer can significantly reduce serum uric acid, apparently by adsorbing urate in the gut. In women, use of combined oral contraceptive pills is significantly associated with lower serum uric acid.
Non-medication treatments for hyperuricemia include a low purine diet (see Gout) and a variety of dietary supplements. Treatment with lithium salts has been used as lithium improves uric acid solubility.
Severe cases require hemodialysis or hemofiltration, which are the most rapid methods of removing potassium from the body. These are typically used if the underlying cause cannot be corrected swiftly while temporizing measures are instituted or there is no response to these measures.
Potassium can bind to agents in the gastrointestinal tract. Sodium polystyrene sulfonate with sorbitol (Kayexalate) has been approved for this use and can be given by mouth or rectally. However, careful clinical trials to demonstrate the effectiveness of sodium polystyrene are lacking, and use of sodium polystyrene sulfonate, particularly if with high sorbitol content, is uncommonly but convincingly associated with colonic necrosis. There are no systematic studies (>6 months) looking at the long-term safety of this medication. Another medication by the name of patiromer was approved in 2015.
Loop diuretics (furosemide, bumetanide, torasemide) and thiazide diuretics (e.g., chlorthalidone, hydrochlorothiazide, or chlorothiazide) can increase kidney potassium excretion in people with intact kidney function.
Fludrocortisone, a synthetic mineralocorticoid, can also increase potassium excretion by the kidney in patients with functioning kidneys. Trials of fludrocortisone in patients on dialysis have shown it to be ineffective.
Patiromer is a selective sorbent that is taken by mouth and works by binding free potassium ions in the gastrointestinal tract and releasing calcium ions for exchange, thus lowering the amount of potassium available for absorption into the bloodstream and increasing the amount that is excreted via the feces. The net effect is a reduction of potassium levels in the blood serum.
While patients should be encouraged to include liberal amounts of sodium and potassium in their diet, potassium supplements are usually required, and spironolactone is also used to reduce potassium loss.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can be used as well, and are particularly helpful in patients with neonatal Bartter's syndrome.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors can also be used.
Several medical treatments shift potassium ions from the bloodstream into the cellular compartment, thereby reducing the risk of complications. The effect of these measures tends to be short-lived, but may temporize the problem until potassium can be removed from the body.
- Insulin (e.g. intravenous injection of 10-15 units of regular insulin along with 50 ml of 50% dextrose to prevent the blood sugar from dropping too low) leads to a shift of potassium ions into cells, secondary to increased activity of the sodium-potassium ATPase. Its effects last a few hours, so it sometimes must be repeated while other measures are taken to suppress potassium levels more permanently. The insulin is usually given with an appropriate amount of glucose to prevent hypoglycemia following the insulin administration.
- Salbutamol (albuterol), a β-selective catecholamine, is administered by nebulizer (e.g. 10–20 mg). This medication also lowers blood levels of K by promoting its movement into cells.
- Sodium bicarbonate may be used with the above measures if it is believed the person has metabolic acidosis.
Increasing fluid intake to yield a urine output of greater than 2 liters a day can be advantageous for all patients with nephrocalcinosis. Patients with hypercalciuria can reduce calcium excretion by restricting animal protein, limiting sodium intake to less than 100 meq a day and being lax of potassium intake. If changing ones diet alone does not result in an suitable reduction of hypercalciuria, a thiazide diuretic can be administered in patients who do not have hypercalcemia. Citrate can increase the solubility of calcium in urine and limit the development of nephrocalcinosis. Citrate is not given to patients who have urine pH equal to or greater than 7.
Although normally benign, idiopathic renal hypouricemia may increase the risk of exercise-induced acute renal failure.
The goal of therapy is to treat the hypercalcaemia first and subsequently effort is directed to treat the underlying cause.
The limited prognostic information available suggests that early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of infants and young children with classic Bartter Syndrome may improve growth and perhaps neurointellectual development. On the other hand, sustained hypokalemia and hyperreninemia can cause progressive tubulointerstitial nephritis, resulting in end-stage kidney disease (kidney failure). With early treatment of the electrolyte imbalances, the prognosis for patients with classic Bartter Syndrome is good.
Initial therapy:
- hydration, increasing salt intake, and forced diuresis.
- hydration is needed because many patients are dehydrated due to vomiting or kidney defects in concentrating urine.
- increased salt intake also can increase body fluid volume as well as increasing urine sodium excretion, which further increases urinary potassium excretion.
- after rehydration, a loop diuretic such as furosemide can be given to permit continued large volume intravenous salt and water replacement while minimizing the risk of blood volume overload and pulmonary oedema. In addition, loop diuretics tend to depress calcium reabsorption by the kidney thereby helping to lower blood calcium levels
- can usually decrease serum calcium by 1–3 mg/dL within 24 hours
- caution must be taken to prevent potassium or magnesium depletion
For people with hyperuricosuria and calcium stones, allopurinol is one of the few treatments that have been shown to reduce kidney stone recurrences. Allopurinol interferes with the production of uric acid in the liver. The drug is also used in people with gout or hyperuricemia (high serum uric acid levels). Dosage is adjusted to maintain a reduced urinary excretion of uric acid. Serum uric acid level at or below 6 mg/100 ml) is often a therapeutic goal. Hyperuricemia is not necessary for the formation of uric acid stones; hyperuricosuria can occur in the presence of normal or even low serum uric acid. Some practitioners advocate adding allopurinol only in people in whom hyperuricosuria and hyperuricemia persist, despite the use of a urine-alkalinizing agent such as sodium bicarbonate or potassium citrate.
How to manage SIADH depends on whether symptoms are present, the severity of the hyponatremia, and the duration. Management of SIADH includes:
- Removing the underlying cause when possible.
- Mild and asymptomatic hyponatremia is treated with adequate solute intake (including salt and protein) and fluid restriction starting at 500 ml per day of water with adjustments based on serum sodium levels. Long-term fluid restriction of 1,200–1,800 mL/day may maintain the person in a symptom free state.
- Moderate and symptomatic hyponatremia is treated by raising the serum sodium level by 0.5 to 1 mmol per liter per hour for a total of 8 mmol per liter during the first day with the use of furosemide and replacing sodium and potassium losses with 0.9% saline.
- For people with severe symptoms (severe confusion, convulsions, or coma) hypertonic saline (3%) 1–2 ml/kg IV in 3–4 h should be given.
- Drugs
- Demeclocycline can be used in chronic situations when fluid restrictions are difficult to maintain; demeclocycline is the most potent inhibitor of Vasopressin (ADH/AVP) action. However, demeclocycline has a 2–3 day delay in onset with extensive side effect profile, including skin photosensitivity, and nephrotoxicity.
- Urea: oral daily ingestion has shown favorable long-term results with protective effects in myelinosis and brain damage. Limitations noted to be undesirable taste and is contraindicated in people with cirrhosis to avoid initiation or potentiation of hepatic encephalopathy.
- Conivaptan – an antagonist of both V and V vasopressin receptors.
- Tolvaptan – an antagonist of the V vasopressin receptor.
Raising the serum sodium concentration too rapidly may cause central pontine myelinolysis. Avoid correction by more than 12 mEq/L/day. Initial treatment with hypertonic saline may abruptly lead to a rapid dilute diuresis and fall in ADH.
One of the recognized medical therapies for prevention of stones is the thiazide and thiazide-like diuretics, such as chlorthalidone or indapamide. These drugs inhibit the formation of calcium-containing stones by reducing urinary calcium excretion. Sodium restriction is necessary for clinical effect of thiazides, as sodium excess promotes calcium excretion. Thiazides work best for renal leak hypercalciuria (high urine calcium levels), a condition in which high urinary calcium levels are caused by a primary kidney defect. Thiazides are useful for treating absorptive hypercalciuria, a condition in which high urinary calcium is a result of excess absorption from the gastrointestinal tract.
Prevention of hypermagnesemia usually is possible. In mild cases, withdrawing magnesium supplementation is often sufficient. In more severe cases the following treatments are used:
- Intravenous calcium gluconate, because the actions of magnesium in neuromuscular and cardiac function are antagonized by calcium.
Definitive treatment of hypermagnesemia requires increasing renal magnesium excretion through:
- Intravenous diuretics, in the presence of normal kidney function
- Dialysis, when kidney function is impaired and the patient is symptomatic from hypermagnesemia
Treatment including addressing the cause, such as improving the diet, treating diarrhea, or stopping an offending medication. People without a significant source of potassium loss and who show no symptoms of hypokalemia may not require treatment.
Mild hypokalemia (>3.0 meq/l) may be treated with oral potassium chloride supplements (Klor-Con, Sando-K, Slow-K). As this is often part of a poor nutritional intake, potassium-containing foods may be recommended, such as leafy green vegetables, avocados, tomatoes, coconut water, citrus fruits, oranges, or bananas. Both dietary and pharmaceutical supplements are used for people taking diuretic medications.
Severe hypokalemia (<3.0 meq/l) may require intravenous supplementation. Typically, a saline solution is used, with 20–40 meq/l KCl per liter over 3–4 hours. Giving IV potassium at faster rates (20–25 meq/hr) may predispose to ventricular tachycardias and requires intensive monitoring. A generally safe rate is 10 meq/hr. Even in severe hypokalemia, oral supplementation is preferred given its safety profile. Sustained-release formulations should be avoided in acute settings.
Difficult or resistant cases of hypokalemia may be amenable to a potassium-sparing diuretic, such as amiloride, triamterene, spironolactone, or eplerenone. Concomitant hypomagnesemia will inhibit potassium replacement, as magnesium is a cofactor for potassium uptake.
When replacing potassium intravenously, infusion by a central line is encouraged to avoid the frequent occurrence of a burning sensation at the site of a peripheral infusion, or the rare occurrence of damage to the vein. When peripheral infusions are necessary, the burning can be reduced by diluting the potassium in larger amounts of fluid, or mixing 3 ml of 1% lidocaine to each 10 meq of KCl per 50 ml of fluid. The practice of adding lidocaine, however, raises the likelihood of serious medical errors.
Treatment or management of organic acidemias vary; eg see methylmalonic acidemia, propionic acidemia, isovaleric acidemia, and maple syrup urine disease.
As of 1984 there were no effective treatments for all of the conditions, though treatment for some included a limited protein/high carbohydrate diet, intravenous fluids, amino acid substitution, vitamin supplementation, carnitine, induced anabolism, and in some cases, tube-feeding.
As of 1993 ketothiolase deficiency and other OAs were managed by trying to restore biochemical and physiologic homeostasis; common therapies included restricting diet to avoid the precursor amino acids and use of compounds to either dispose of toxic metabolites or increase enzyme activity.