Acute or emergency symptoms may include:

• Abdominal pain
• Abdominal swelling
• Back pain
• Blood in the urine
• Decreased alertness
  • Coma
  • Drowsiness, lethargy
• Decreased urine output
• Fever
• Flank pain, severe
• Increased heart rate
• Inability to urinate
• Nausea, vomiting
• Pale skin
• Skin cool to touch
• Sweating

Chronic symptoms:

• Constipation (with toxic injury, lead poisoning)
• Irritability
• Weight loss

If only one kidney is affected, there may be no symptoms, because the second (healthy) kidney functions well enough for normal health.

The health care provider may find the source of the injury by looking at your:

• History of physical injury
• Exposure to toxic substances
• Recent infections or illness

Signs may include:

• Excess bleeding (hemorrhage)
• Extreme tenderness over the kidney
• Shock, including rapid heart rate or falling blood pressure
• Signs of kidney failure

Tests that may be done include:

• Abdominal CT scan
• Abdominal MRI
• Angiography of the kidney artery or vein
• Blood electrolytes
• Blood tests to look for toxic substances
• Complete blood count (CBC)
• Intravenous pyelogram (IVP)
• Kidney x-ray
• Renal scan
• Urinalysis