ACUTE-RENAL-FAILURE AS SEEN IN A HEMODIALYSIS UNIT

Thirty-eight patients with acute renal failure (ARF) treated with haem odialysis seen at the nephrology unit of King Fahd Hospital of the Uni versity (KFHU) over a period of 5 years were studied with regard to th eir clinical characteristics, aetiological spectrum, severity of disea se and final outcome. Medical causes contributed to ARF in 60.5% cases , the prominent among them were acute nephritis, septicaemia and acute interstitial renal disease. Surgical causes accounted for 34.2% of ca ses; half of these were due to acute urinary obstruction mostly from u rinary calculi. This pattern and frequency of medical and surgical cau ses of ARF was in conformity with that seen in developing countries an d in contrast to that observed in the developed countries. Obstetric A RF was, however, infrequent in contrast to experience from developing countries. Uraemic symptoms were found in 88% cases and majority of pa tients were severely uraemic. Ten patients died, but uraemia by itself was an infrequent cause of death in them. Anuria, septicaemia, acidos is and severity of disease were bad prognostic factors.