[Acute kidney failure in patients with multiple injuries]

19 patients suffering from posttraumatic acute renal failure were treated by hemodialysis at least three times a week and sometimes daily. In addition to trauma and acute renal failure (arf), all patients had various other posttraumatic complications. The overall mortality within 12 months from trauma was 84%. The high mortality rate was due mainly to the extent of injury and the occurrence of life-threatening complications, above all sepsis. Whether or not these basic problems are aggravated by arf, the overall results of the treatment call for careful establishment of the indications for these laborious and expensive therapeutic measures.