The New England Journal of Medicine
e-mail icon  FREE NEJM E-TOC    HOME   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   CURRENT ISSUE   |   PAST ISSUES   |   COLLECTIONS   |    Advanced Search
Sign in | Get NEJM's E-Mail Table of Contents — Free | Subscribe
 
Review Article
Medical Progress
PreviousPrevious
Volume 334:1448-1460 May 30, 1996 Number 22
NextNext

Acute Renal Failure
Ravi Thadhani, M.D., Manuel Pascual, M.D., and Joseph V. Bonventre, M.D., Ph.D.

Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

 Sign up for free e-toc
 

This Article
-Full Text
- PDF
-Purchase this article

Commentary
-Letters

Tools and Services
-Add to Personal Archive
-Add to Citation Manager
-Notify a Friend
-E-mail When Cited

More Information
-PubMed Citation
Acute renal failure is characterized by a deterioration of renal function over a period of hours to days, resulting in the failure of the kidney to excrete nitrogenous waste products and to maintain fluid and electrolyte homeostasis. In the past five decades, several important causes of acute renal failure and the pathophysiologic mechanisms that underlie renal dysfunction have come to be understood. In this article we highlight the epidemiology, general causes, and evaluation of acute renal failure in adults. We then expand on the pathophysiology of ischemic acute renal failure and discuss the rationale for both current and future therapies. . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Background and Epidemiology

Causes of Acute Renal Failure

Prerenal Causes

Postrenal Causes

Intrinsic Causes

Risk Factors, Morbidity, and Mortality

Diagnostic Evaluation

History Taking and Physical Examination

Urine Evaluation

Blood Tests

Evaluation of Obstruction

Role of Renal Biopsy in Acute Renal Failure

Pathophysiology of Ischemic Acute Renal Failure and Rationale for Therapies

Vascular Factors and Therapy with Vasodilators

            Dopamine

            Calcium-Channel Blockers

            Natriuretic Peptides

Medullary Hypoxia

Tubular-Cell Injury

            Structural Changes

            Osmotic Agents and Diuretics

            Biochemical Changes

            Calcium

            Reactive oxygen species

            Purine depletion

            Phospholipases

            Apoptosis

            Acute Renal Failure in Transplant Recipients

            Role of Growth Factors in Recovery from Ischemic Acute Renal Failure

            Management of Acute Renal Failure

            General Principles

            Replacement Therapy


Source Information

From the Department of Medicine and Renal Unit (R.T., M.P., J.V.B.) and the Transplantation Unit (M.P.), Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School; and the Harvard–Massachusetts Institute of Technology Division of Health Sciences and Technology (J.V.B.) — all in Boston.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Bonventre at Suite 4002, 149 13th St., Charlestown, MA 02129.

References


Related Letters:

Acute Renal Failure
Lindner A., Sherrard D. J., Friedman E. A., Glaser D. S., Thadhani R., Pascual M., Bonventre J. V.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 1996; 335:1320-1322, Oct 24, 1996. Correspondence

This article has been cited by other articles:



HOME  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  SEARCH  |  CURRENT ISSUE  |  PAST ISSUES  |  COLLECTIONS  |  PRIVACY  |  HELP  |  beta.nejm.org

Comments and questions? Please contact us.

The New England Journal of Medicine is owned, published, and copyrighted © 2008 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.