Acute renal failure and multiple organ system failure

We treated 23 patients with acute renal failure who had multiple organ system failure. The patients ranged in age from 16 to 66 years (mean, 36 years). All patients underwent hemodialysis. Mortality increased with the number of organ systems involved, from 22% for patients with two systems involved to 100% for patients with four systems involved. The overall mortality was 47.8%. The association of ventilatory failure and sepsis resulted in the most deaths. Early resuscitation, eradication of the primary lesion, and hemodialysis are the most important points in the treatment and prevention of multiple organ system failure in patients with acute renal failure. Thus, the problems of single and multiple organ system failure in China are similar to those in other countries.