What is the Difference Between Hydronephrosis and Pyonephrosis

The key difference between hydronephrosis and pyonephrosis is that hydronephrosis is a condition where one or both kidneys become stretched and swollen due to urine buildup, while pyonephrosis is a condition that is characterized by pus accumulation in the renal collecting system.

Kidneys are usually responsible for regulating pH, salt, potassium, and many other things. Various diseases, lifestyle habits, and genetic factors may affect normal kidney function. Moreover, kidney conditions affect approximately 37 million American adults. These kidney conditions can lead to health problems such as weak bones, nerve damage, and malnutrition. Hydronephrosis and pyonephrosisis are two associated kidney conditions. This is because pyonephrosis can be caused by hydronephrosis. Both these conditions affect the basic renal function of urine filtration. However, these conditions have different pathologies.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Hydronephrosis  
3. What is Pyonephrosis
4. Similarities – Hydronephrosis and Pyonephrosis
5. Hydronephrosis vs. Pyonephrosis in Tabular Form
6. FAQ – Hydronephrosis and Pyonephrosis
7. Summary – Hydronephrosis vs. Pyonephrosis

What is Hydronephrosis?

Hydronephrosis is the aseptic dilation of the kidney due to obstruction. The signs and symptoms of this condition may include pain in the back or side, needing to urinate more often, pain or burning sensation while urinating, feeling tired and unwell, urinating less often than used to, or having a weak stream. Hydronephrosis can be caused by an increased amount of urine that the baby produces in the later stages of pregnancy, kidney stones, pregnancy, an enlarged prostate gland in men, narrowing of the ureters, and certain types of cancers such as kidney cancer, bladder cancer, prostate cancer, and ovarian cancer.

Hydronephrosis can be diagnosed through physical examinations, urine tests, blood tests, and imaging tests such as MRI, CT scan, and ultrasound. Furthermore, hydronephrosis is treated by draining the urine out of the kidneys by inserting a tube called a catheter into the bladder or kidneys, removing kidney stones during an operation, managing enlarged prostate by surgery, surgery for ureter blockages, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy for cancers.

What is Pyonephrosis?

Pyonephrosis is a dangerous kidney infection characterized by pus accumulation in the renal collecting system. The symptoms of pyonephrosis are fever, chills, flank pain, back pain, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting, fatigue, frequent urination, burning sensation when urinating, foul-smelling urine, and blood or pus in urine. This condition is usually linked to a blockage in the renal collecting system and suppurative renal parenchymal destruction. Pyonephrosis can be caused by an upper urinary tract infection, blockage, and hydronephrosis.

Pyonephrosis can be diagnosed through urinalysis, complete blood count, serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN), blood culture, renal ultrasonography, CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis, excretory urography, and diffusion-weighted MRI. Furthermore, treatment options for pyonephrosis may include intravenous antibiotics, drainage of pus by catheterization, fluids and medicines to maintain adequate blood pressure intravenously, and management of stones or other causes of obstruction.

What are the Similarities Between Hydronephrosis and Pyonephrosis?

• Hydronephrosis and pyonephrosisis are two associated kidney conditions.
• Pyonephrosisis can be caused by
• Both conditions can be diagnosed through physical evaluation and imaging tests.
• They can be treated through specific medicines and catheterization.

What is the Difference Between Hydronephrosis and Pyonephrosis?

Hydronephrosis is a condition where one or both kidneys become stretched and swollen due to urine buildup, while pyonephrosis is a condition that is characterized by pus accumulation in the renal collecting system. Thus, this is the key difference between hydronephrosis and pyonephrosis. Hydronephrosis can be caused by an increased amount of urine that the baby produces in the later stages of pregnancy, kidney stones, pregnancy, an enlarged prostate gland in men, narrowing of the ureters, and certain types of cancers such as kidney cancer, bladder cancer, prostate cancer, and ovarian cancer. On the other hand, pyonephrosis can be caused by an upper urinary tract infection, blockage, and hydronephrosis.

The infographic below presents the differences between hydronephrosis and pyonephrosis in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

FAQ: Hydronephrosis and Pyonephrosis

What is another name for pyonephrosis?

Suppurative hydronephrosis is another name for pyonephrosis.

What is a differential diagnosis of pyonephrosis?

Differential diagnoses for pyonephrosis include conditions such as kidney stones, urinary tract infections, pelvic inflammatory disease, cholecystitis, appendicitis, lower lobe pneumonia, perforated viscus, and the prodrome of herpes zoster.

What is the difference between hydronephrosis and pelvicaliectasis?

Hydronephrosis is the swelling or dilation of the kidney due to the accumulation of urine, often caused by an obstruction in the urinary tract. Pelvicaliectasis, on the other hand, specifically refers to the dilation of the renal pelvis and calyces, which are parts of the kidney’s internal drainage system.

Summary – Hydronephrosis vs. Pyonephrosis

Hydronephrosis is a condition where one or both kidneys become stretched and swollen due to urine buildup. Pyonephrosis is a condition that is characterized by pus accumulation in the renal collecting system. So, this summarizes the difference between hydronephrosis and pyonephrosis.

Reference:

1. “Hydronephrosis: What Is It?” Cleveland Clinic.
2. Andrew C Peterson, MD. “Pyonephrosis.” Practice Essentials, Etiology, Prognosis, Medscape.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Ultrasonography of end-stage hydronephrosis with cortical thinning” By Kristoffer Lindskov Hansen, Michael Bachmann Nielsen and Caroline Ewertsen – (2015). “Ultrasonography of the Kidney: A Pictorial Review”. Diagnostics 6 (1): 2. DOI:10.3390/diagnostics6010002. ISSN 2075-4418. (CC-BY 4.0) via  Commons Wikimedia
2. “Image from page 178 of “Pyelography (pyelo-ureterography) a study of the normal and pathologic anatomy of the renal pelvis and ureter” (1915)” By Internet Archive Book Images (Public Domain) via Flickr