ACUTE RENAL FAILURE

When there is sudden decrease in renal functions with rise in creatinine level with decrease urine out put and inability to maintain fluid balance in the body.When this occurs over hours or days with a preexisting normal kidneys we call it as acute kidney failure.
Identifying the cause is the first step in treatment.Remember 5% of hospital admissions and 30% of ICU patients carry a diagnosis of ARF(acute renal failure).25% of over all admitted cases for various reasons may develop renal failure.Majority of them will recover with timely interventions but some patients with multiple diseases may go to chronic phase.Dialysis may or may not be required depending on the pathology.
Normally creatinine level in blood is less than 1mg% but may start rising slowly over days.With decrease in urine out put and rise in creatinine level leads to a diagnosis of ARF.In day to day practice these are few common causes of ARF in India:malaria,Diarrhea,Gastroenteritis,Post surgical problems,Blood loss,certain drugs,Crush injuries,post delivery,abortions,Acute nephritis,shock syndrome, hepatitis, leptospira infection and hepatorenal syndrome.
Your doctor will decide when intervention is required for kidney problems with dialysis.