Complications of bladder inflammation
Cystitis and bladder inflammation are medical conditions that affect the urinary bladder but can also become complicated and affect other tissues. These are the most common complications you can find:
1. Pyelonephritis
This is a urinary tract infection that affects the kidneys. It occurs when bacteria enter the urethra and then spread to the kidneys and the bladder. It usually happens when cystitis is not cured, and the bacteria thrive in the urinary bladder for too long. Then, it goes up and infects one kidney or both.
Pyelonephritis can be a very severe condition, and it is associated with many additional problems. In many cases, it requires hospitalization and very strict hospital care with intravenous antibiotic treatment. The prognosis of cystitis complicated with pyelonephritis depends on the patient, but it is a curable disease in most cases.
2. Sepsis
When doctors talk about sepsis, they refer to an infection that has spread through the bloodstream. Sepsis is one of the most important causes of death in children, and it is usually triggered by a bacterial infection that is severe enough to cause an inflammatory response that does not only affect the infected area but all of the organism at the same time.
It can be associated with bacteremia, which is the presence of bacteria in the bloodstream. The bacteria usually enter the bloodstream through an open wound or by swallowing contaminated food. Once the bacteria enter the bloodstream, they multiply and spread throughout the body. This can lead to organ failure and death. The best way to prevent sepsis is to avoid these infections.
3. Adhesions and adenocarcinoma of the bladder
When bladder infection is maintained for too long, it can also lead to changes in the bladder tissue, especially adhesions, which feature fibrotic tissue that grows abnormally in the bladder and changes the form and elasticity of the organ. They attach to other organs or connect the bladder’s walls to one another, causing additional problems and very uncomfortable symptoms.
Ongoing inflammation in the bladder in chronic cases and recurrent urinary tract infections can also lead to bladder cancer. The tissue starts to change when it is subject to ongoing inflammation, and one of these changes can be a higher rate of cell division, which can go out of control and turn into a tumor.
