How to use this nephrology deck

Nephrology questions often turn on a threshold, a pattern or the next safe action. A useful deck tests one decision at a time: recognising acute kidney injury (AKI), classifying albuminuria, interpreting an electrolyte problem or identifying when urgent renal support is needed. It should not make you memorise a long paragraph as one card.

Work through the cards below as a real retrieval drill. Read the question, commit to an answer, then reveal the answer. Grade your recall honestly: choose Again if you could not retrieve it, Hard if you needed substantial effort, Good if you recalled it correctly, or Easy if it was immediate and secure. The grade affects when a card returns; it is not a mark for the exam.

The thresholds here are common international teaching standards. Local protocols can differ, particularly for emergency treatment and drug dosing. For a clinical decision, use current local guidance. MySummaries can turn a learner’s own nephrology notes into a deck; a useful board on this topic might look like this:

Cards — Nephrology — Core renal patterns18 due

What creatinine change meets the KDIGO definition of AKI within 48 hours?

A rise of at least 26.5 µmol/L (0.3 mg/dL) within 48 hours.

All 18 cards
What creatinine change meets the KDIGO definition of AKI within 48 hours?A rise of at least 26.5 µmol/L (0.3 mg/dL) within 48 hours.
What creatinine change meets the KDIGO AKI criterion over 7 days?A rise to at least 1.5 times baseline, known or presumed to have occurred within the prior 7 days.
What urine-output threshold meets the KDIGO AKI criterion?Less than 0.5 mL/kg/hour for at least 6 hours.
When is chronic kidney disease (CKD) present by duration?When an abnormality of kidney structure or function with health implications is present for at least 3 months.
What eGFR threshold is a CKD criterion, if persistent for at least 3 months?eGFR below 60 mL/min/1.73 m².
What urine ACR defines severely increased albuminuria, category A3?ACR above 30 mg/mmol (approximately 300 mg/g).
What urine ACR range defines moderately increased albuminuria, category A2?ACR 3–30 mg/mmol (approximately 30–300 mg/g).
What is the conventional adult nephrotic-range proteinuria threshold?More than 3.5 g of protein in 24 hours.
What does a red-cell cast in urine most strongly indicate?Glomerular bleeding, commonly from glomerulonephritis.
Which ECG change in hyperkalaemia requires immediate membrane stabilisation?ECG changes such as QRS widening or loss of P waves; IV calcium stabilises the myocardium but does not lower serum potassium.
What is the typical potassium pattern in type 4 renal tubular acidosis?Hyperkalaemia, usually with a normal-anion-gap metabolic acidosis.
What urine-pH pattern supports distal (type 1) renal tubular acidosis during systemic acidosis?Urine pH remains above 5.5 because the distal nephron cannot acidify urine appropriately.
What is the classic timing of visible haematuria in IgA nephropathy?During, or within a few days of, an upper respiratory infection (synpharyngitic haematuria).
Which blood test is commonly associated with primary membranous nephropathy?Serum anti-PLA2R antibody; a negative result does not exclude the diagnosis.
When can post-renal obstruction cause AKI in a patient with two functioning kidneys?When obstruction affects both upper urinary tracts, or obstructs the bladder outlet.
What does a rise in creatinine after starting an ACE inhibitor or ARB require you to assess?Check the change, volume status and other causes; a rise greater than 30% within about 4 weeks warrants review for causes such as renovascular disease.
Name the classic urgent indications for renal replacement therapy, often summarised as AEIOU.Refractory Acidosis, Electrolyte disturbance (especially hyperkalaemia), Intoxication with dialysable toxins, fluid Overload, and symptomatic Uraemia.
What is the usual direction of sodium correction in chronic hypernatraemia?Lower serum sodium gradually; a commonly taught ceiling is about 10 mmol/L in 24 hours, with the rate individualised to the clinical context.
A nephrology revision deck testing one clinical fact on each card.

That is a MySummaries deck, filled with nephrology material. Yours is written from your own notes. Start free

Review the must-not-miss core

Once you have graded the deck, check whether the facts fit together. The AKI criteria describe three different signals: a creatinine rise over a defined interval, a relative rise from baseline, or sustained low urine output. CKD requires persistence, so one low eGFR result does not by itself establish chronic disease. Albuminuria adds risk information even when eGFR is preserved.

Electrolyte and acid–base cards should lead to safe reasoning, not isolated recall. In hyperkalaemia, distinguish stabilising the cardiac membrane from shifting or removing potassium. In renal tubular acidosis, pair the potassium pattern with the acid–base picture. In suspected AKI, look for reversible causes such as obstruction, and assess the whole patient rather than relying on a single urine index.

Here is the condensed checklist the deck was cut from:

Must not miss coreNephrology — Must not miss core
KDIGO AKI: creatinine rise ≥26.5 µmol/L in 48 h, ≥1.5× baseline within 7 days, or urine output <0.5 mL/kg/h for 6 h.
CKD: kidney-structure or function abnormality with health implications for ≥3 months; eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m² is one qualifying criterion.
Albuminuria ACR: A2 3–30 mg/mmol; A3 >30 mg/mmol. Interpret with eGFR and persistence.
Hyperkalaemia with ECG changes: IV calcium stabilises the myocardium; it does not remove potassium.
Renal replacement therapy: consider refractory acidosis, electrolyte disturbance, intoxication, fluid overload and uraemic complications in clinical context.
The high-priority nephrology thresholds and patterns distilled from the deck.

Turn repeat misses into a short repair task

Do not keep repeating every card at the same pace. If one fact comes back wrong, revisit the relevant section of your notes and say the answer aloud in a complete sentence. Then try the card again later. For a threshold, include the unit and time window; for a treatment, say what it does and what it does not do. That extra precision prevents a familiar-looking answer from masking a gap.

A remediation tray can isolate a point missed more than once, so the next review begins with the weakness rather than the easiest material:

Remediation tray

You lost this mark twice: what does intravenous calcium do in hyperkalaemia with ECG changes, and what does it not do?

Add cardDismiss

After a few review cycles, amend the source board if the same confusion persists. Add the missing distinction to your notes—for example, the difference between a CKD definition and a single abnormal test—then make the card test that distinction directly. Keep cards atomic: one threshold, pattern or action per prompt. If a card asks for several unrelated facts, split it.

How MySummaries helps

MySummaries builds revision boards from your own PDFs, slides and photographed notes, then generates flashcards for spaced review. You can organise nephrology by AKI, CKD, electrolytes and glomerular disease, and keep the cards linked to the material you need to revise. Open MySummaries.