Acute renal failure during the Korean War

Oliguric ARF occurred in 0.5% of battle casualties who reached the field medical care system and raised their mortality expectancy from less than 5% to nearly 90%, due primarily to fluid volume overload and/or myocardial potassium intoxication. For their effective treatment the Renal Insufficiency Center with laboratory and a Brigham-Kolff rotating drum dialyzer began operations in 1952, as depicted in a videotape prepared for this presentation from motion picture footage filmed in early 1953. Our Surgical Research Team's major findings relevant to ARF were: (1) Renal function was depressed in most battle casualties in proportion to the severity of their wounds and blood loss. (2) Among the more severely wounded some developed nonoliguric; others, oliguric ARF. (3) Oliguria lasted from 3 days to 3 weeks without a discernible peak frequency of beginning diuresis at 10 days. (4) During oliguria, posttraumatic catabolism greatly accelerated extracellular accumulations of nitrogen, potassium, phosphate, and hydrogen ion with rapid, concurrent clinical deterioration. (5) Dialysis "on indication" produced an oscillating clinical and chemical course. (6) ARF was then revealed as a wasting disease complicated by infections, poor wound healing until diuresis occurred, anemia and bleeding, and hypertension during dialyses and in early diuresis. (7) The overall mortality rate was reduced.