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Renal failure means that the kidneys aren't working properly. If the renal failure is chronic, it is lasting and kidney function is unlikely to improve. However you can remain quite well until late on in chronic renal failure. It is therefore important to stop it from getting worse, if at all possible. 'Chronic renal failure' is often shortened to CRF. CKD, which stands for for 'Chronic kidney disease', means the same thing

How do you know about chronic renal failure?

As many people with chronic renal failure have no symptoms, it is often only diagnosed after blood tests. As your kidney function deteriorates, you might develop any of the following symptoms: poor appetite, nausea and vomiting, tiredness, fluid retention (swollen ankles or shortness of breath), itch, cramps, or restless legs. However there can be other explanations for most of these symptoms.

What about progression?

For some reason, once kidneys have been damaged, they may continue to get worse over months and years, even long after the disease that caused the damage has gone. This is more likely if you have high blood pressure, and if there is much protein leaking into the urine. Renal failure that requires dialysis or a kidney transplant to keep you alive is known as end stage renal failure, or ESRF.

Can end-stage renal failure be prevented?

Sometimes it can - and even if it cannot be prevented, it can often be delayed by many years. This involves careful attention to the things mentioned under 'treatment' below. However attention to two things may be especially important:

Diet - This is more controversial and the risks and benefits need careful analysis.

Stages of kidney disease

In the last few years a useful classification of renal failure has been developed. It needs you to know your GFR - glomerular filtration rate. This can be measured, or predicted from your age, weight, blood tests etc. More information about tests of kidney function.

Stage	GFR	Description	Treatment stage
1	90+	Normal kidney function but urine or other abnormalities point to kidney disease	Observation, control of blood pressure
2	60-89	Mildly reduced kidney function, urine or other abnormalities point to kidney disease	Blood pressure control, monitoring, find out why.
3	30-59	Moderately reduced kidney function	More of the above, and probably diagnosis, if not already made.
4	15-29	Severely reduced kidney function	Planning for endstage renal failure - more info.
5	14 or less	Very severe, or endstage kidney failure (sometimes call established renal failure)	See treatment choices for endstage renal failure.

Stage 2 kidney disease is a tricky area, because normal GFR falls with age, and therefore many normal older people may fall into this category. Equations used to predict GFR (rather than real measurements) may also give falsely low results in people with near-normal function.

At stages 1-3 kidney disease you don't usually feel unwell - this usually just begins at stage 4. Despite this, at stages 1-3 you:

Are at risk of going on to get more severe kidney disease
Are at increased risk of getting heart disease or other illnesses affecting arteries.

It is known that you can reduce both of these risks by careful monitoring and treatment. This page includes information about this and is particularly relevant to stages 2-4.

The different diseases that can cause renal failure may also influence what are the best treatments for you.

What do kidneys do?

What treatment is required?

Some kidney diseases require specific treatment that will help that particular problem. Here we are describing general treatment that may be required for anyone with failing kidneys, whatever the cause.

You may have to follow a fluid restriction or have to take 'water tablets' (diuretics, for example Frusemide), and to restrict salt intake. This is to prevent fluid overload which can cause troublesome symptoms such as swollen ankles or shortness of breath. Your doctor may give you a 'target' or 'ideal' weight (also called dry weight). Occasionally people have the opposite problem, and need to take extra fluid and salt.

Most people will have to take medication to control blood pressure. Excellent blood pressure control has been shown to slow down the progression of chronic renal failure, in addition to the benefits to the heart and blood vessels elsewhere in the body. Different medicines suit different people, but often an ACE inhibitor (or a similar drug) will be recommended, as these are particularly good for kidney diseases. Your doctors will advise you about this (and see separate information on high blood pressure in kidney disease).

The anaemia that goes with renal failure is mainly due to a deficiency of a hormone called erythropoietin (Epo). Epo is produced by the kidney to stimulate red blood cell production from the bone marrow. A deficiency of Epo leads to anaemia.

Often the anaemia of renal failure can be helped by taking iron. Some people remain short of iron even when taking iron tablets. If so, you might need a course of intravenous iron injections. This is usually done at the hospital as an out patient.

With more severe anaemia you may be prescribed Epo, which has to be given as injections, usually once or twice a week. You can learn to give this to yourself quite easily.

Renal bone disease can be a serious problem for people who have had chronic renal failure for a long time. It can cause aches, pains and sometimes fractures. The aim is to prevent it, as treatment is much harder later. In renal failure typically the calcium level in the blood becomes low and the phosphate level high. This imbalance neeeds treating, or the body overproduces parathyroid hormone in an attempt to control it, and this causes thinning of the bones. You may have to take a combination of the following:

Alfacalcidol or calcitriol: these are active forms of Vitamin D, which is often short in renal failure, as the kidneys fail to process it.

Phosphate binders (eg Phosex, Calcichew, Calcium 500, Renagel) help to prevent too much absorption of phosphate from the gut and thus keep the level in the blood lower. Your diet may also help with this.

You will be asked to follow a special diet in which there may be controlled amounts of protein, salt, phosphate, and potassium. You may not need to restrict all of these, and recommendations are likely to change with time. It is also important to avoid under-feeding. This is why the dietitian is an important member of the renal team. Separate information on diet is available, click here to go to the Diet pages.

In renal failure the kidneys are unable to excrete the normal acid waste products of the body. People in renal failure often have too much acid in the blood (acidaemia) and have to take bicarbonate tablets to neutralise this.

People with kidney disease are at greatly increased risk of heart disease, stroke and problems with the circulation. It is particularly important that you should not smoke as this increases the risk of heart disease even further. You should also attempt to maintain a healthy diet and take regular exercise. Cholesterol and other lipids are often high in kidney disease, this may require special medication.

Is there anything else that I should do or not do?

Please be aware that while we have made all effort to ensure that this information is accurate, we cannot guarantee that there are no mistakes. Also that the best management for individual patients may differ from that outlined here. Only the doctors caring for the patient will be able to advise on this.

Chronic Renal Failure and its Progression