Oedema
Separate local from generalised oedema, dipstick the urine early, and match diuretic strategy to the cause, including diuretic resistance in nephrotic syndrome.
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Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- Oedema is excess interstitial fluid. Clinically detectable pitting needs a gain of about 3 L or more of extracellular fluid in an adult.
- Decide early: local or generalised, pitting or non-pitting, acute or chronic.
- Unilateral leg swelling is DVT until excluded. Bilateral swelling is usually systemic, venous or drug-related.
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Sources
- Kidney and Urinary (Therapeutic Guidelines)AU/NZTherapeutic Guidelines Ltd
- Cardiovascular (Therapeutic Guidelines)AU/NZTherapeutic Guidelines Ltd
- KDIGO 2021 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Glomerular Diseases (Kidney International 2021;100(4S):S1-S276)Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes, 2021
- Køber L, Adamo M et al. 2026 ESC Guidelines for the management of heart failure. Eur Heart J 2026European Society of Cardiology, 2026
- Bose B, Carter SA, Abdy ME et al. CARI Guidelines commentary on the KDIGO clinical practice guideline for the management of glomerular diseases. Nephrology 2025;30(9):e70119AU/NZCARI Guidelines (Nephrology), 2025
- Mullens W et al. Acetazolamide in acute decompensated heart failure with volume overload (ADVOR). N Engl J Med 2022;387:1185-95New England Journal of Medicine, 2022
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
- 14 November 2026 Personal emails, About story and Australian-style copy