Taking a Closer Look at Renal Failure

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Renal Failure is a common condition that could also be described as Acute renal failure (ARF) or Chronic renal failure(CRF), both conditions occur when there is a loss of kidney function. Kidney disease or renal failure is the ninth leading cause of death in the United States (Pradeep ,2014). Specifically, acute renal failure is characterized by the kidney’s sudden inability to filter blood, excrete wastes, concentrate urine, preserve electrolytes, and sustain fluid balance which leads to many problems in the human body. Acute renal failure alone is a frequent clinical problem, especially in the intensive care unit, where according to Clin (2004), “is associated with mortality of between 50% and 80%” (p5). As for the pathophysiology part of acute renal failure inadequate blood supply to an organ, ischemia plays a large role. If a person has ischemia for more than 2 hours it can result in irreversible damage to the kidneys. Significant reduction in glomular filtration rate (GFR) is a result of ischemia, activation of the renin-angiotensin system, and tubular obstruction by cellular debris. As nephrotoxins damage the tubular cells and the same cells are lost through necrosis, the tubules become more permeable which results in filtrate absorption and a reduction in the nephrons ability to eliminate waste.

There are three causes of renal failure which include prerenal, intrarenal, and postrenal. Prerenal disorders are before the nephron and are used to refer to any disruption on the cardiovascular side of the nephron. Anything that originates in the circulatory blood supply of the nephron that impairs its function is classified as prerenal. In Intrarenal disorders the problem arises from within the nephron tubules themselves, ...

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