Diagnosis and management of nutcracker syndrome: Nursing considerations and a review of current practice

Nutcracker Syndrome (NCS), the symptomatic manifestation of left renal vein (LRV) compression-commonly between the abdominal aorta and the superior mesenteric artery (SMA)-presents with a range of nonspecific symptoms including hematuria and flank or abdominal pain. Due to the vague clinical presentation, diagnosis is often delayed. Clinicians, particularly vascular nurses and advanced practice providers (APPs) should include NCS in the differential when evaluating unexplained hematuria and atypical abdominal or flank pain. Enhancing familiarity with diagnostic criteria for vascular nurses and vascular APPs can improve the quality of care for the patient and decrease time to diagnosis.