Complications of kidney infection

Blood poisoning (also called sepsis) is another rare, but potentially fatal, complication of a kidney infection. It happens when bacteria spreads from the kidneys into the bloodstream. Once bacteria are in your blood, the infection can spread to any part of your body, including all of the major organs.

In someone with a kidney infection, the symptoms of blood poisoning include:

• low blood pressure, which makes you feel dizzy when you stand up
• confusion or disorientation
• excessive sweating
• uncontrollable shaking or shivering
• high temperature or lower body temperature than usual (under 36C, or 96.8F)
• pale skin
• rapid heartbeat
• breathlessness

Another rare, but potentially fatal, complication of a kidney infection is a condition called emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN).

EPN is a severe infection, where the tissues of the kidneys are rapidly destroyed and the bacteria causing the infection begin to release a toxic gas, which builds up inside the kidneys.

The exact cause of EPN is unclear, but almost all cases are in people with diabetes.

The usual treatment is emergency surgery to remove some, or all, of the affected kidney. It’s possible to live a full and active life with only one kidney.