HealthInfo Waitaha Canterbury
Polycystic kidney disease
Matenga whatumanawa huahua o te pakeke
Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is where fluid-filled cysts form on your kidneys causing them to slowly enlarge. PKD can very slowly cause your kidneys to stop working properly.
Cysts can also grow in other parts of your body, such as your liver, brain and heart.
PKD is an inherited disease that is passed down from one or both of your parents. It's an autosomal dominant disease, which means that the children of an affected parent have a 50% chance of developing the condition. It's the most common form of inherited kidney disease.
About half of people with PKD will develop a mild form of chronic kidney disease (CKD) that doesn't develop further or only does so in old age. But the other half will develop severe CKD that needs treating.
Symptoms of PKD
It's common not to have any symptoms with PKD. But symptoms you might notice include:
- high blood pressure
- pain in your back or side – this is caused by the cysts
- headaches – caused by high blood pressure
- a feeling of fullness in your tummy (abdomen) or your tummy getting bigger – caused by the cysts getting bigger
- blood in your urine – caused by the cysts bleeding
- urinary tract or kidney infections
- kidney stones.
Diagnosing PKD
Your doctor might order the following tests:
- urine tests to check for protein and blood in your urine
- blood tests to check how well your kidneys are working
- ultrasound to look for cysts (although the cyst might be too small to show on ultrasound).
Treating PKD
It's important to make sure you keep your blood pressure under control. You should also make healthy lifestyle choices to help keep your kidneys healthy.
While there is no cure for PKD, a drug called tolvaptan slows down the growth of cysts, which means it can delay the development of chronic kidney disease.
If you have PKD, your doctor might talk to you about screening your children to find out if any of them have inherited the gene that causes PKD.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
- Edinburgh renal unit – Polycystic kidney disease (PKD)
Detailed information about PKD.
- Patient.info – Polycystic kidney disease
Detailed information about polycystic kidney disease, including the different types, possible complications, and the pros and cons of screening other family members.
- PKD Australia
Detailed information about PKD, including the different types and possible complications.
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed July 2021.
SourcesReview key: HIKID-202879
