Acute Renal Failure

Acute Renal Failure is when the kidneys abruptly stop functioning by excreting wastes of the body. Abnormal functions that can cause acute renal failure are that the body cannot regulate acid-base balance of bodily fluids, regulation of one’s blood pressure which affects waste products not being filtered from the body, and irregularities of red blood cell production.

There are many factors that can cause a person’s kidneys to stop working properly. A prerenal cause is something that occurs in the bloody supply to the kidneys, such as inadequate blood profusion to the kidneys. Having inadequate blood profusion prevents the kidneys from cleansing the blood in the body. An intrarenal cause, also known as an intrinsic renal failure is damage that was caused my medications, injury, or diseases that also affect the kidneys to fail. Certain medications are very strong and with long term use causes damage to the kidneys. Diseases such as Acute Tubular Necrosis (ATN), Acute Interstitial Nephritis (AIN), and Acute Glomulonephritis cause the kidneys to fail because the greatly effects the ability to filter blood and urine. A postrenal cause is an obstruction in the urinary tract causing the patient to urinate less frequently or in small quantities.

There are exams that can help diagnose acute renal failure such as blood tests like Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN), Creatinine clearance, Serum Creatinine, Serum Potassium, electrolyte levels, acid-base balance, GFR and Urinalysis. These blood tests may help the doctor understand why the kidney is malfunctioning. Urinalysis and be done to see to what extent the kidneys are damaged by checking what components are present in the urine. Other exams available and that are well preferred for accurate d...

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