Polychromatic - Polymyxin

polychromatic

(pŏl″ē-krō-măt′ĭk) 1. Multicolored. 2. Having a wide spectrum of energies or wavelengths; said of radiation.

polychromatophil, polychromatophile

(pŏl″ē-krō-măt′ō-fĭl) [Gr. polys, many, + chroma, color, + philein, to love] A cell, esp. a red blood cell that is stainable with more than one kind of stain.

polychromatophilia

(pol″ē-krō-mat″ŏ-fil′ē-ă) [poly- + chrom- + -philia] 1. The quality of being stainable with more than one stain. 2. Polychromasia (2). polychromatophil, polychromatophilic (pol″ē-krō-mat′ŏ-fil, pol″ē-krō-mat″ŏ-fil′ik), adj.

polyclinic

(pŏl″ē-klĭn′ĭk) [″ + kline, bed] A hospital or clinic treating patients with various medical and surgical conditions; a general hospital.

polyclonal

(pŏl″ē-klōn′ăl) Arising from different cell lines.

polycystic

(pŏl″ē-sĭs′tĭk) [″ + kystis, cyst] Composed of many cysts.

polycystic kidney disease

ABBR: PKD. An inherited renal disorder transmitted as an autosomal recessive trait in infants and as an autosomal dominant trait in adults. PKD was previously called adult polycystic kidney disease. It is characterized by cyst formation in ductal organs, esp. the kidney and liver, and by gastrointestinal and cardiovascular abnormalities, e.g., colonic diverticula, cardiac valvular abnormalities, and intracranial and aortic aneurysms.

INCIDENCE: PKD is one of the most common hereditary disorders, occurring in about 1 in 400 to 1 in 1000 people. An estimated 500,000 people in the U.S. have the disease. It accounts for 10% of cases of end-stage renal disease.

CAUSES: All forms of polycystic kidney disease are inherited.

SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS: Symptoms include hypertension, acute and chronic pain, and urinary tract infections.

DIAGNOSIS: Polycystic kidneys are usually identified when a patient with flank pain, blood in urine, or urinary tract infection undergo imaging studies. The cysts within the kidneys may be seen on plain x-rays, excretory urography, ultrasonography, CT scanning or MR imaging of the abdomen. Patients with a family history of the disease should undergo screening to identify the disease.

TREATMENT: Treatment includes vigorous hydration, and when renal failure develops, dietary and medical therapy for chronic kidney disease, with eventual renal dialysis or renal transplantation, if a donor organ is available.

Experimental therapies include the use of inhibitors of the mammalian target of rapamycin, somatostatin, or vasopressin receptor antagonists.

PATIENT CARE: Patients with polycystic kidneys should be followed regularly by their health care professionals to assess their renal function (with blood tests), and to make certain they have adequate pain management and blood pressure control. Patients have an increased risk of heart disease and cerebral aneurysms relative to the general ...