CAQ-Nephrology study plan

Build a one-page immunofluorescence decision table that maps linear, granular, and pauci-immune staining patterns to at least eight glomerular diagnoses.

Differentiate nephritic from nephrotic presentations using urinalysis microscopy findings (dysmorphic red cells, red cell casts, lipiduria, oval fat bodies) across 20 written vignettes.

Distinguish minimal change disease, FSGS, membranous nephropathy, and IgA nephropathy by their light microscopy, immunofluorescence, and electron microscopy descriptors.

Apply the Oxford MEST-C score and proteinuria thresholds to decide which IgA nephropathy patients get RAAS blockade alone versus corticosteroid or immunosuppressive therapy.

Estimate GFR with the race-free CKD-EPI 2021 equation and convert spot urine protein-to-creatinine ratios to estimated daily proteinuria without a calculator.

Separate acute interstitial nephritis from acute tubular injury using medication timelines, the fever-rash-eosinophilia triad, and the poor sensitivity of urine eosinophils.

Recognize cast nephropathy, light-chain deposition disease, and AL/AA amyloidosis as distinct paraproteinemic lesions with different biopsy findings and prognoses.

Classify hyponatremia in three steps by tonicity, volume status, and paired urine osmolality and urine sodium, then commit to a fluid strategy for each category.

Calculate the sodium deficit and the expected rise from hypertonic saline, and state the correction limits and the risk factors for osmotic demyelination.

Distinguish SIADH from reset osmostat, cerebral salt wasting, and primary polydipsia using volume assessment and a water-load or salt-load response.

Construct a stepwise approach to hypokalemia and hyperkalemia that uses urine potassium, the urine potassium-to-creatinine ratio, and concurrent acid-base status to localize the cause.

Apply the anion gap, the delta-delta, and Winter's formula to at least 15 arterial blood gas problems, including cases with two concurrent disorders.

Differentiate type 1, type 2, and type 4 renal tubular acidosis by urine pH, urine anion gap, serum potassium, and response to furosemide or bicarbonate loading.

Interpret the urinary osmolar gap and the urine anion gap in suspected methanol or ethylene glycol ingestion and state the indications for fomepizole and dialysis.

Select potassium-lowering therapy in chronic kidney disease by mechanism and onset of action, matching binders, loop diuretics, sodium bicarbonate, and dialysis to the clinical setting.

Stage acute kidney injury by the KDIGO creatinine and urine output criteria and separate prerenal azotemia from intrinsic injury using fractional excretion of sodium and urea and urine microscopy.

Explain when the standard urinary indices mislead, including diuretic use, chronic kidney disease, contrast exposure, and sepsis-associated acute kidney injury.

Map nephrotoxic acute kidney injury patterns and their timelines for contrast, aminoglycosides, cisplatin, NSAIDs, ACE inhibitors and ARBs, and proton pump inhibitors.

Order and interpret a renal ultrasound in acute kidney injury and list the AEIOU indications for urgent dialysis with the specific threshold value for each.

Diagnose rhabdomyolysis, tumor lysis syndrome, and thrombotic microangiopathy from creatine kinase, uric acid, phosphorus, potassium, LDH, haptoglobin, and schistocyte findings.

Compare CVVH, CVVHD, and CVVHDF by solute transport mechanism, and justify a modality choice for a hypotensive patient in the intensive care unit.

Write a complete continuous renal replacement therapy prescription covering blood flow, dialysate and replacement rates, effluent volume target, and citrate versus heparin anticoagulation.

Manage acute kidney injury in sepsis, hepatorenal syndrome treated with terlipressin plus albumin, and cardiorenal syndrome with decongestion versus ultrafiltration.

Adjust drug dosing for renal replacement therapy using sieving coefficient and extracorporeal clearance, covering at least ten commonly used antimicrobials and analgesics.

State the indications and major complications of therapeutic plasma exchange in TTP, anti-GBM disease, and ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Stage chronic kidney disease by the G and A heat map categories and map each combination to monitoring frequency, nephrology referral timing, and vascular access planning.

Slow progression using the four-pillar approach of RAAS blockade, SGLT2 inhibitors, finerenone, and GLP-1 receptor agonists, citing the pivotal trial behind each.

Manage anemia with HIF prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors versus erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, CKD-mineral bone disorder with binders, calcimimetics, and active vitamin D, and metabolic acidosis with bicarbonate targets.

Compare hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis access options and their complications, including arteriovenous fistula maturation failure, catheter-related peritonitis, and encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis.

Calculate Kt/V and the urea reduction ratio from supplied pre- and post-dialysis blood urea nitrogen values and identify an inadequate dialysis prescription.

Distinguish hyperacute, acute cellular, antibody-mediated, and chronic rejection by time since transplant, histology, and donor-specific antibody testing.

Select induction and maintenance immunosuppression and recognize agent-specific toxicities, including tacrolimus nephrotoxicity, sirolimus-associated proteinuria, and belatacept-related post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder.

Diagnose post-transplant infections by interval after surgery, covering CMV, BK polyomavirus nephropathy, and Pneumocystis pneumonia, and match each to its prophylaxis regimen.

Select antihypertensive agents for chronic kidney disease, diabetic kidney disease, and transplant recipients, and justify the choice by comorbidity and proteinuria.

Evaluate resistant hypertension with a structured secondary-cause workup that includes primary aldosteronism screening, renal artery imaging, and sleep apnea assessment.

Map renal manifestations of systemic disease across lupus nephritis ISN/RPS classes, ANCA vasculitis, anti-GBM disease, myeloma, amyloidosis, diabetic nephropathy, scleroderma renal crisis, and sickle cell nephropathy.

Apply induction and maintenance regimens for ANCA-associated vasculitis and lupus nephritis and specify the monitoring needed for cyclophosphamide, rituximab, and glucocorticoid toxicity.

Differentiate preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, and acute fatty liver of pregnancy by labs and timing, and select antihypertensives that are safe in pregnancy.

Complete a full-length timed simulation under exam conditions with no reference material.

Consolidate every residual missed concept into a single high-yield review sheet capped at two pages.