Master Nephritic Syndrome with Picmonic for Medicine

Nephritic syndrome is characterized by hematuria, or blood in the urine, caused by damage to renal glomeruli due to inflammation.

RBC casts are groups of RBCs which have been trapped in the kidney and morphed to form a clump of cells. Casts indicate intra-renal pathology which helps differentiate nephritic syndrome from post-renal disease processes which can cause hematuria.

Azotemia is a medical condition which is defined by abnormal amounts of nitrogen products in the blood. This is usually caused by kidney dysfunction because the kidney is responsible for ridding the body of nitrogen waste products.

Oliguria is low urine output which usually indicates kidney damage or hypovolemia. Oliguira is commonly seen in individuals with nephritic syndrome.

Hypertension refers to elevated blood pressure which is a necessary finding for the diagnosis of nephritic syndrome.

Proteinuria and edema are common findings in nephritic syndrome although not as severe as those encountered in nephrotic syndrome. Proteinuria of <3.5 g/day is a diagnostic criteria for diagnosing nephritic syndrome and values above 3.5 grams per day is generally referred to as nephrotic syndrome.