Acute renal failure. Experience with 52 patients treated at Livingstone Hospital

Fifty-two cases of acute renal failure at Livingstone Hospital were studied. Twenty-two cases were obstetric, 10 surgical and 20 medical. The aetiological factors are tabulated and the pathophysiology is reported. Clinical features and biochemical abnormalities are presented. Infection was the commonest associated factor, followed by hypotension and volume problems, coagulation disorders, jaundice and hepatic failure, respiratory failure, pancreatitis and typhoid fever. In 7 of the medical cases the aetiology was unknown and was assumed to be toxic. A case history of a patient with leptospirosis, acute renal failure, liver failure and pancreatitis is presented. The mortality in this series was 32%.