Acute renal failure (also known as acute kidney injury (AKI)) means that kidneys suddenly can’t get rid of the body’s waste and balance chemicals in your body. Kidneys normally do this by making urine. When they fail, waste products and chemicals build up and are harmful.
Conditions that reduce the blood supply to kidneys, block flow of urine after it leaves kidneys, or injure kidneys can cause renal failure. Diseases that predispose to acute kidney failure include chronic urinary infections, dehydration, and kidney damage from congestive heart failure, diabetes, or high blood pressure.
Causes of acute renal failure include illnesses that have an indirect effect on kidneys (e.g., low blood pressure), kidney blockage, and direct kidney injury (e.g., by drugs and x-ray dyes).
An early symptom is often little or no urine output.
Later ones include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and appetite loss. Irritability, insomnia, convulsions, stupor, coma, severe itching, high or low blood pressure, unexplained bruising, and bleeding for no reason may be additional signs. In some forms of acute renal failure the kidneys continue to produce urine but it does not contain the waste products normally removed by the kidneys.
Blood and urine tests can measure how well kidneys work. A biopsy (taking a sample of tissue from kidneys) may be done in certain cases, as may x-rays of the chest, belly, kidneys, and ureters (tubes taking urine from kidneys to the bladder).
Treatment depends on the reason for acute renal failure. In many cases, a hospital admission may be necessary to start treatment. Medicines may be given to help increase the amount of urine made, and an artificial kidney machine may be used for dialysis (hemodialysis). In another type of dialysis known as peritoneal dialysis, fluid (called dialysate) is placed in the abdomen (belly) to help clean waste products from the blood and is then removed with a special tube (catheter). The health care provider may suggest a reduced intake of protein, salt, and potassium and use of blood pressure pills and calcium supplements. In many cases, kidneys may recover completely, but recovery may take up to 6 weeks or longer.
Contact the following sources:
Copyright © 2016 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc.
Ferri’s Netter Patient Advisor