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G OALS Students must understand the differences between acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease. Students should learn about the various causes and treatments for each condition. This activity can serve as a quick reference for understanding these two conditions.

O NLINE A PPLICATION

• Post two discussions to the learning management system, one for acute kidney injury and one for chronic kidney disease. Ask students to address one condition ’ s signs and symptoms, etiology, diagnostic testing, and treatment. Ask students to consider what they would tell family members about visiting the patient during this situation. • Post a discussion about a case study of a patient experiencing acute or chronic kidney disease. Ask the students to identify what the nurse would expect as a priority during the treatment. The discussion posts must be detailed with specifics to the scenario.

Interpretation: Explaining Laboratory Values

D IRECTIONS

• Have students work in pairs and interpret how the following laboratory values would be affected by renal disease. • A student handout is included at the end of this document. • Suggested answers are shown in the table below.

Laboratory Value

How It Would Be Affected by Renal Disease

Calcium levels decrease because the kidneys are unable to produce the hormone that activates vitamin D, the vitamin needed for calcium absorption. In renal disease, erythropoietin production is impaired, leading to anemia. Therefore, one would expect that hemoglobin and hematocrit levels would be decreased. In renal disease, creatinine levels would be increased; they are representative of the kidneys ’ ability to function, because they are not affected by other variables of metabolism. In renal disease, acidemia is present, which would be associated with an increase in potassium levels as a result of impaired excretion. In renal disease, BUN is increased as a result of impaired excretion because it represents a by-product of protein metabolism. In renal disease, the expectation is that phosphorus levels would be increased because of impaired excretion.

Vitamin D/calcium

Hemoglobin/hematocrit

Creatinine

Potassium

Blood urea nitrogen (BUN)

Phosphorus

G OALS This activity helps students understand the significance of laboratory values associated with renal disease.