Acute renal failure

Acute renal failure is characterised by a rapid fall in glomerular filtration rate, clinically manifest as an abrupt and sustained rise in urea and creatinine. Life threatening consequences include volume overload, hyperkalaemia, and metabolic acidosis. Acute renal failure is both common and costly...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMJ 2006-10, Vol.333 (7572), p.786-790
Main Author: Hilton, Rachel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acute kidney failure
Acute Kidney Injury - etiology
Acute Kidney Injury - prevention & control
Acute Kidney Injury - therapy
Antibodies
Biological and medical sciences
Clinical Review
Diagnosis
Dialysis
General aspects
Glomerulonephritis
Humans
Interstitial nephritis
Kidney diseases
Kidney failure
Kidney Function Tests
Kidneys
Medical diagnosis
Medical History Taking - methods
Medical sciences
Medical treatment
Necrosis
Nephrology. Urinary tract diseases
Nephropathies. Renovascular diseases. Renal failure
Older adults
Pathology
Physical Examination - methods
Referral and Consultation
Renal failure
Risk factors
Treatment
Vascular diseases
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Acute renal failure is characterised by a rapid fall in glomerular filtration rate, clinically manifest as an abrupt and sustained rise in urea and creatinine. Life threatening consequences include volume overload, hyperkalaemia, and metabolic acidosis. Acute renal failure is both common and costly and carries a high morbidity and mortality. As it is often preventable, identification of patients at risk and institution of appropriate preventive measures are crucial. In incipient or established acute renal failure rapid recognition and treatment may prevent irreversible loss of nephrons. In most cases of acute renal failure initial management is by non-specialist clinicians, often comparatively junior ones. All clinicians should therefore be able to recognise the symptoms and signs of acute renal failure, request and interpret initial investigations, initiate appropriate treatment, and know when, and how urgently, to consult a more experienced colleague or specialist. This review highlights the common causes of acute renal failure, defines the population at risk, evaluates established and newer strategies for prevention and treatment, and identifies those patients who warrant early referral. Tables, Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.
ISSN:0959-8138
0959-8146
0959-535X
1468-5833
1756-1833
DOI:10.1136/bmj.38975.657639.AE