Acute Renal Failure and HELLP Syndrome: A Single Center's Experience

A total of 52 patients were referred to our center from gynecology and obstetric units in our area with acute renal failure during the last two years. Seven patients were found to have so called syndrome of hemolysis (H), elevated liver enzymes (EL) and low platelets (LP) associated with acute renal failure. The syndrome can easily be confused with other diagnoses like hemolytic uremic syndrome, idiopathic thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and disseminated intravascular hemolysis. Six patients had renal biopsies to confirm the diagnosis, while one did not consent for biopsy. Four patients were found to have acute tubular necrosis, one had acute cortical necrosis and one was not enough for interpretation. We conclude that the patients can easily be misdiagnosed if we are not familiar with the diagnosis and that the overall prognosis is good if the patient survives the acute stage.