In this episode of Nursing Student Deep Dive, we explore the renal system and how urinary tract infections and acute kidney injury can progress from subtle findings into serious, life-threatening complications. The focus is on helping nursing students connect changes in urine output, blood pressure, mental status, fluid balance, and laboratory values back to what is happening inside the kidneys.

Topics include kidney and nephron anatomy, glomerular filtration, GFR and creatinine, renal regulation of blood pressure and electrolytes, UTIs, CAUTIs, pyelonephritis, urosepsis, urinalysis and urine cultures, antibiotic therapy, and prevention strategies. We also break down pre-renal, intra-renal, and post-renal acute kidney injury, KDIGO criteria, the phases of AKI, nephrotoxic medications, rhabdomyolysis, fluid challenges, and critical changes i ...