A physician urged patients on medication to report abnormal conditions to their doctors, citing the case of a 55-year-old man who was diagnosed with acute kidney disease and metabolic acidosis after falling ill on a trip to Thailand.
The middle-aged man, surnamed Huang (黃), has chronic kidney disease and hypertension, but had always controlled the conditions by taking his medicine regularly.
Huang recently experienced recurring diarrhea from possible food poisoning when he visited Thailand, but continued to feel weak and frequently dizzy after his return to Taiwan.
However, he did not seek treatment until he started panting frequently, lost his appetite and was told by friends that he looked rather exhausted.
A renal function examination showed that Huang’s estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 9ml/min/1.73m2, while the normal eGFR number for a man his age is between 85 to 115ml/min/1.73m2, said Tungs’ Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital Division of Nephrology physician Chien Shiaw-wen (簡孝文), who treated Huang.
Huang was diagnosed with acute kidney failure and metabolic acidosis, and received immediate treatment, Chien said, adding that Huang already had a low eGFR of about 50 to 60ml/min/1.73m2 due to chronic kidney disease, but the repeated diarrhea caused led to dehydration and weakened his kidney function.
Huang also took anti-hypertension drugs regularly, but as the weakened kidneys could not metabolize the drug, he began feeling dizzy due to reduced blood pressure and developed metabolic acidosis, Chien said.
He said patients with chronic kidney disease are often used to regularly seeing doctors for repeat prescriptions, but sometimes lack the patience to tell the doctor about recent developments, which can be dangerous if the patient has conditions such as Huang’s and takes anti-hypertension or anti-diabetic medication when their kidney function is weak.
“Weakened kidney function is like a car key and taking medicine is like the gas pedal: If the car key has not been turned, stepping on the gas would not cause serious damage to the body,” he said. “But when the car is started up, stepping on the gas will speed up the damage.”
He urged patients with chronic kidney disease to get regular checkups and tell doctors about any changes when renewing their prescriptions.
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