Question

what is renal tubular Acidosis

Answer 1

Renal tubular acidosis is a medical condition that involves an accumulation of acid in the body due to a failure of the kidneys to appropriately acidify the urine.

Renal tubular acidosis (RTA) is a disease that occurs when the kidneys fail to excrete acids into the urine, which causes a person’s blood to remain too acidic. Without proper treatment, chronic acidity of the blood leads to growth retardation, kidney stones, bone disease, chronic kidney disease, and possibly total kidney failure.

(Renal tubular acidosis (RTA) is a disease that occurs when the kidneys fail to excrete acids into the urine, which causes a person’s blood to remain too acidic)

The body’s cells use chemical reactions to carry out tasks such as turning food into energy and repairing tissue. These chemical reactions generate acids. Some acid in the blood is normal, but too much acid— acidosis—can disturb many bodily functions. Healthy kidneys help maintain acid-base balance by excreting acids into the urine and returning bicarbonate—an alkaline, or base, substance—to the blood. This “reclaimed” bicarbonate neutralizes much of the acid that is created when food is broken down in the body

TYPES OF RTA

Type 1 is also called classical distal RTA. “Distal,” which means distant, refers to the point in the urine-forming tube of the kidney where the defect occurs—relatively distant from the point where fluid from the blood enters the tiny tube, or tubule, that collects fluid and wastes to form urine

Type 2 is also called proximal RTA. The word “proximal,” which means near, indicates that the defect is closer to the point where fluid and wastes from the blood enter the tubule.

Type 3 is rarely used as a classification because it is now thought to be a combination of type 1 and type 2

Type 4 is also called hyperkalemic RTA and is caused by a generalized transport abnormality of the distal tubule. The transport of electrolytes such as sodium, chloride, and potassium that normally occurs in the distal. tubule is impaired. This form is distinguished from classical distal RTA and proximal RTA because it results in high levels of potassium in the blood instead of low levels. Either low potassium, hypokalemia or high potassium, hyperkalemia, can be a problem because potassium is important in regulating heart rate.

To diagnose RTA, doctors check the acid-base balance in blood and urine samples. If the blood is more acidic than it should be and the urine less acidic than it should be, RTA may be the reason, If RTA is the reason, additional information about the sodium, potassium, and chloride levels in the urine and the potassium level in the blood will help identify which type of RTA a person has.