The occurrence of acute renal failure in patients with neuropathic bladders

A group of patients with neuropathic bladders, who developed acute renal failure, is described. In each instance, sepsis from the urinary tract, its consequences or its treatment was implicated in the aetiology of the renal failure. Aggressive management of acute renal failure in the patients in our study showed their survival and functional renal recovery to be no worse than for similar patients without paraplegia. This illustrates that these patients presenting with a rare and serious complication of paraplegia should not be abandoned, since aggressive treatment along conventional lines in consultation with renal physicians and urologists was successful in four out of five of our patients.