Comprehensive Symptom Navigator

Cystitis

Category: Genitourinary and Reproductive Health

Symptoms:
painful urination; frequent urination; pelvic discomfort; cloudy or foul-smelling urine; blood in urine

Root Cause:
Inflammation of the bladder, usually caused by bacterial infection (most commonly Escherichia coli).

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Urinalysis, urine culture.

Treatment:
Antibiotics, hydration, pain relief.

Medications:
Nitrofurantoin , trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, fosfomycin .

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Common, especially in women; affects up to 50% at least once in their lifetime.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Female anatomy, sexual activity, urinary catheter use.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Excellent with treatment.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Recurrent infections, pyelonephritis, chronic bladder inflammation.

Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD)

Specialty: Nephrology

Category: Chronic and Acute Kidney Diseases

Symptoms:
high blood pressure; back or side pain; frequent urinary tract infections; blood in urine; abdominal fullness; kidney stones

Root Cause:
Genetic disorder characterized by the growth of numerous cysts in the kidneys, leading to progressive loss of kidney function.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Ultrasound, CT, or MRI imaging to detect kidney cysts, genetic testing in specific cases, and family history assessment.

Treatment:
Managing hypertension, addressing infections, lifestyle changes, and potentially kidney transplantation in advanced cases.

Medications:
Tolvaptan (vasopressin receptor antagonist) to slow cyst growth, antibiotics for infections, and antihypertensive drugs (e.g., ACE inhibitors or ARBs).

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Affects approximately 1 in 1,000 individuals worldwide.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Family history of PKD, particularly autosomal dominant inheritance.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Progressive disease; many develop CKD or ESRD, requiring dialysis or transplantation. Early management can improve outcomes.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Chronic pain, high blood pressure, kidney stones, recurrent infections, and progression to ESRD.

Tubulointerstitial Nephritis

Specialty: Nephrology

Category: Tubulointerstitial Diseases

Symptoms:
fatigue; nausea; loss of appetite; fever; rash; joint pain; decreased urine output; blood in urine; edema

Root Cause:
Inflammation of the kidney's tubules and interstitial tissue, often caused by an immune-mediated response to drugs, infections, or systemic diseases.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Urinalysis (presence of white blood cells, red blood cells, or casts), blood tests (elevated creatinine and BUN), imaging (ultrasound or CT for structural abnormalities), kidney biopsy (to confirm inflammation and etiology).

Treatment:
Discontinuing causative agents, managing underlying infections or systemic diseases, corticosteroids or other immunosuppressants in severe cases.

Medications:
Corticosteroids (e.g., prednisone ) to reduce inflammation; antibiotics or antivirals for infection-related causes; immunosuppressive drugs (e.g., azathioprine or cyclosporine ) in autoimmune-associated cases.

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Rare, accounting for approximately 10-15% of cases of acute kidney injury.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Use of nephrotoxic medications (e.g., NSAIDs, antibiotics like penicillin), infections (e.g., streptococcus, cytomegalovirus), autoimmune diseases (e.g., lupus, sarcoidosis).

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Generally favorable with early detection and management; chronic kidney damage can occur if treatment is delayed or if the underlying cause persists.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Chronic kidney disease, permanent scarring of the kidneys, electrolyte imbalances, progression to end-stage renal disease.

Uric Acid Stones

Specialty: Nephrology

Category: Kidney Stones and Urologic Disorders

Sub-category: Nephrolithiasis (Kidney Stones)

Symptoms:
flank pain; blood in urine; frequent urination; cloudy or foul-smelling urine; urinary urgency

Root Cause:
High levels of uric acid in the urine, often due to acidic urine pH, lead to the formation of uric acid crystals and stones.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Urine pH measurement, 24-hour urine collection, and imaging studies such as a CT scan or ultrasound.

Treatment:
Increased hydration to dilute urine, dietary changes to reduce purine intake, urine alkalinization with potassium citrate, and sometimes dissolution therapy.

Medications:
Allopurinol (xanthine oxidase inhibitor) to lower uric acid production; potassium citrate to increase urine pH.

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
More common in individuals with gout or metabolic syndrome; accounts for about 5–10% of all kidney stones.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
High-purine diet, dehydration, obesity, gout, chronic diarrhea, and genetic predisposition.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Usually manageable with dietary changes and medications; recurrence can be prevented with proper therapy.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Chronic obstruction, urinary tract infections, kidney damage, and recurrence of stones.

Cystine Stones

Specialty: Nephrology

Category: Kidney Stones and Urologic Disorders

Sub-category: Nephrolithiasis (Kidney Stones)

Symptoms:
flank or abdominal pain; recurrent kidney stones; cloudy or foul-smelling urine; urinary urgency and frequency; blood in urine

Root Cause:
Caused by a rare genetic disorder, cystinuria, where excess cystine is excreted in the urine, leading to poorly soluble crystals and stone formation.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Urine analysis showing characteristic hexagonal cystine crystals; 24-hour urine collection for cystine levels; genetic testing for cystinuria.

Treatment:
Increased fluid intake to dilute urine, dietary sodium and protein restriction, urine alkalinization, and, in some cases, surgical removal of stones.

Medications:
Tiopronin or D-penicillamine (thiol-based medications to bind cystine and make it more soluble); potassium citrate to increase urine pH.

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Rare, accounting for 1–2% of all kidney stones; more common in individuals with a family history of cystinuria.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Genetic predisposition, dehydration, high sodium intake.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Challenging due to high recurrence rates; manageable with lifelong hydration and therapy.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Recurrent stones, kidney obstruction, infections, and chronic kidney disease.

Hydronephrosis

Specialty: Nephrology

Category: Kidney Stones and Urologic Disorders

Symptoms:
flank pain; difficulty urinating; swollen or distended abdomen; nausea and vomiting; recurrent utis; blood in urine; reduced urine output in severe cases

Root Cause:
Swelling of one or both kidneys due to urine buildup caused by an obstruction or other conditions impairing normal urine flow.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Diagnosed with imaging tests such as ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI; urinalysis to identify infections or hematuria; and renal function tests to monitor kidney health.

Treatment:
Treatment includes relieving the obstruction using ureteral stents, nephrostomy tubes, or surgical correction. Treating underlying causes, such as removing stones or addressing structural abnormalities, is also crucial.

Medications:
Antibiotics like amoxicillin or ciprofloxacin to treat or prevent infections; pain relief with NSAIDs or acetaminophen ; diuretics are rarely used but may aid in certain cases to reduce edema.

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Common in individuals with obstructive uropathy, kidney stones, or tumors; can occur at any age but is more prevalent in older adults and pregnant women.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Kidney stones, pregnancy (due to compression of the ureters), prostate enlargement, congenital abnormalities of the urinary tract, and recurrent UTIs.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Favorable with early treatment; prolonged obstruction can lead to irreversible kidney damage or renal failure.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Chronic kidney disease, infections, kidney atrophy, and permanent loss of kidney function in severe cases.

Wilms Tumor (Nephroblastoma)

Specialty: Oncology

Category: Solid Tumors

Sub-category: Genitourinary Cancers

Symptoms:
abdominal swelling or mass; abdominal pain; fever; blood in urine; nausea or vomiting

Root Cause:
A rare kidney cancer in children caused by genetic mutations affecting kidney development.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Ultrasound, CT or MRI, and biopsy; genetic testing may be performed.

Treatment:
Surgery (nephrectomy), chemotherapy, and radiation therapy (in advanced stages).

Medications:
Chemotherapeutic agents like vincristine , actinomycin D, and doxorubicin are used in combination therapy.

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Wilms tumor affects about 1 in 10,000 children, making it the most common pediatric kidney cancer.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Family history of Wilms tumor, genetic syndromes (e.g., WAGR syndrome, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome).

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Favorable prognosis with a 5-year survival rate exceeding 90% for localized cases.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Kidney function loss, metastases to lungs or liver, and complications from chemotherapy or radiation.

Kidney Cancer

Specialty: Oncology

Category: Solid Tumors

Sub-category: Genitourinary Cancers

Symptoms:
blood in urine; persistent back pain; lump or mass in the abdomen; unexplained weight loss; fatigue

Root Cause:
Malignant growth of cells in the kidney, often arising from the renal tubules, caused by genetic mutations or environmental factors.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Ultrasound, CT scan, MRI, biopsy, and urine or blood tests.

Treatment:
Surgery (partial or radical nephrectomy), targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and, in some cases, radiation therapy or ablation.

Medications:
Targeted therapies like sunitinib (tyrosine kinase inhibitor) or nivolumab (PD-1 inhibitor) are used. Immunotherapies include pembrolizumab or ipilimumab .

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Accounts for 3-5% of all cancers, with over 430,000 cases annually worldwide.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, family history of kidney cancer, and exposure to toxic chemicals.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Localized kidney cancer has a good prognosis with surgical treatment; metastatic cases have a poorer outlook.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Spread to lungs, liver, bones, and complications from kidney function loss.

Renal Cell Carcinoma

Specialty: Oncology

Category: Solid Tumors

Sub-category: Genitourinary Cancers

Symptoms:
blood in urine; flank pain; unexplained weight loss; fever; fatigue

Root Cause:
A subtype of kidney cancer originating in the renal tubules due to genetic mutations and environmental triggers.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Imaging tests (CT, MRI, ultrasound), biopsy, and blood tests (to assess kidney function).

Treatment:
Surgery (nephrectomy), targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and in advanced cases, systemic therapies.

Medications:
Tyrosine kinase inhibitors like pazopanib and axitinib ; immunotherapies such as nivolumab (PD-1 inhibitor) or combination therapies like ipilimumab with nivolumab .

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
RCC is the most common type of kidney cancer, comprising about 85% of cases globally.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Smoking, obesity, hypertension, genetic predisposition (e.g., von Hippel-Lindau syndrome), chronic kidney disease.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
High survival rates if detected early; metastatic RCC is challenging to treat and has a worse prognosis.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Tumor metastasis, loss of kidney function, paraneoplastic syndromes.

Urethral Cancer

Specialty: Oncology

Category: Solid Tumors

Sub-category: Genitourinary Cancers

Symptoms:
difficulty urinating; blood in urine; pelvic pain; discharge from the urethra; swelling in the groin

Root Cause:
Malignant tumors forming in the urethral lining, often associated with chronic inflammation or prior cancer history.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Cystoscopy, biopsy, imaging (CT, MRI), and urinalysis.

Treatment:
Surgery (partial or total urethrectomy), radiation therapy, and chemotherapy for invasive cases.

Medications:
Chemotherapy regimens may include cisplatin and fluorouracil for advanced disease.

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Extremely rare; more common in women and individuals with chronic urinary tract infections or bladder cancer history.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Chronic inflammation, prior bladder cancer, HPV infection, and advanced age.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Early diagnosis offers better outcomes, but advanced stages carry a higher risk of recurrence and metastasis.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Urinary obstruction, kidney damage, metastases to lymph nodes or distant organs.

Wilms Tumor

Specialty: Oncology

Category: Sarcomas

Sub-category: Pediatric Cancers

Symptoms:
abdominal mass; abdominal pain; fever; blood in urine; high blood pressure; poor appetite; weight loss

Root Cause:
A type of kidney cancer that primarily affects children, usually involving one kidney, but can occasionally involve both.

How it's Diagnosed: videos
Ultrasound, CT scan, MRI, biopsy, blood and urine tests.

Treatment:
Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy.

Medications:
Chemotherapy agents like vincristine , actinomycin D, and doxorubicin ; pain relievers such as ibuprofen or morphine for post-surgical pain management.

Prevalence: How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Occurs in about 7-10% of childhood cancers, with around 500 cases diagnosed annually in the U.S.

Risk Factors: Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Genetic conditions like WAGR syndrome, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, or Li-Fraumeni syndrome.

Prognosis: The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
90% survival rate in localized cases; survival rates decrease in cases with metastasis.

Complications: Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Recurrence, kidney damage, long-term effects from chemotherapy or radiation, high blood pressure.