Question

Chronic kidney disease can also cause respiratory disorders including pulmonary edema, which causes the alveoli to fill with fluid.

• How would the chronic kidney disease cause pulmonary edema? (Make sure to consider fluid balance by the kidney and include any hormones involved.)

• Explain how pulmonary edema would affect gas exchange. (Make sure to include respiratory volume terminology and lung compliance in your discussion of gas exchange.)

Answer 1

Chronic kidney disease is also responsible for causing pulmonary edema where there is excessive build up of fluid in the tissues. It is often observed that the pulmonary edema occurs within the loose tissues like the face, feet, legs etc. during the early stage of the chronic kidney failure. When a person is suffering from chronic kidney disease, it is not able to perform the function of urine production efficiently due to the damage of the kidney tissues. The normal functioning of the kidney helps in eliminating of excess water from the body but when one is suffering from chronic kidney disease, they have week renal function. This prevents the kidney from discharging the fluid in the body and its accumulation leads to pulmonary edema. As there is kidney disease, the fluid excretion is impaired, and it tends to overall disturb the fluid balance of the body. As the kidney is not able to filter the waste and release excess fluid, it causes a disturbance in the fluid balance leading to increase in the accumulation of waste and electrolytes within the body. Due to the injury of the kidney muscles, the system of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone is not able to function appropriately. This system helps in regulating the water balance in the body and without this it leads to accumulation of water in the body.

When there is pulmonary edema it tends to increase the accumulation of fluid in the body tissues and the fluid is also accumulated in the air sacs of the lungs i.e within the alveoli. This makes it difficult for a person to breath and it tends to prevent proper gas exchange. During such condition, due to the accumulation of the fluid, it tends to reduce the respiratory volume and hence interferes with the gas exchange process.