Kidney Infection Health Video

Kidney infection or pyelonephritis is a specific type of urinary tract infection (UTI) that generally begins in your urethra or bladder and travels up into your kidneys. If not treated properly, kidney infection can permanently damage your kidneys or spread to your bloodstream and cause a life-threatening infection. Learn about the different causes, symptoms, and treatments for kidney infection in this medical video.

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Consult doctor for severe flank or back pain
Consult doctor for chills with shaking or sweating
Consult doctor for vomiting & fatigue

About this Author

Dr. Susan McGladdery is a medical graduate from Oxford University in the UK and has a Master's Degree in Medical Sciences from Cambridge University. She has been a member of the Royal College of Physicians since 1991 and a member of the American Academy of Urgent Care since 2006. She trained as a Family Physician in the UK in Oxford and then in London. In a medical career that spans over 20 years, she has worked as a doctor in 5 countries on 3 continents and cared for patients from a multitude of different nationalities and backgrounds. Dr. McGladdery joined FirstMed Centers in mid 2002 and became Regional Medical Director in 2003.

SUSAN MCGLADERRY, BM, BCH, MRCP: Hello. My name is Dr. Susan McGladerry. I'm the medical director from FirstMed Centers in Budapest Hungary and I would like to talk to you briefly about kidney infections. Kidney infection or pyelonephritis is an infection of the kidney and ureters. Those are the ducts that carry urine from the kidney to the bladder. What are the causes of kidney infections? Mostly the result of a urinary tract infection especially when there is backflow of urine from the bladder known as the vesicoureteric reflux or VUR. Acute uncomplicated pyelonephritis is the sudden development of kidney inflammation and chronic pyelonephritis is a much more longstanding infection that doesn't clear. Cystitis is just a bladder infection and is rather common but pyelonephritis is much less common. What factors increase the risk of pyelonephritis or kidney infection? There may be a history of cystitis or kidney stones or reflux. The risk is also increased when there is a history of chronic or recurrent urinary tract infection or when there is a particularly aggressive type of bacteria around. Acute pyelonephritis can be very severe in the elderly and in people who are immunosuppressed, for example, those who have cancer or AIDS. If you have any of these symptoms, you should see your doctor, severe flank or back pain or persistent high fever, chills with shaking and sweating, vomiting and nausea or fatigue and malaise and abnormalities of urination such as frequency, pain, or blood in the urine. In elderly people, confusion may be the only sign of a kidney infection. How do we make the diagnosis? You'll need a clinical exam plus a urine dipstick check and a culture. Other types of scans such as ultrasound and pyelogram may also be needed. What sort of treatments do you need for a kidney infection? Antibiotics by injection are initially given and then treatment by mouth with an oral antibiotic for about 10 or 14 days in the case of an acute infection. In chronic pyelonephritis, treatment is usually given by mouth but is needed for a much longer period of time.