Prognostic Indicators in Acute Renal Failure

Abstract

BACKGROUND Acute renal failure complicates 45% of cases in the general setup and up to 70% cases in the intensive care unit setup. Knowing the possibility of death is essential to determine the line of treatment and explaining prognosis to the patient and relatives. Multiple organ failure is a grave prognostic indicator in acute renal failure. We wanted to study the relation of indices to outcome in patients with acute renal failure. METHODS All patients above 18 years of age with acute renal failure who were admitted to hospital for a period of 1 year were included in the study. Those patients with preexisting chronic renal failure were excluded from the study. Statistical package for Social Sciences Version 14 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS Need for respiratory support, comatose state, thrombocytopenia, and increasing number of complications are significant prognostic indicators according to this study. The mortality rate of patients in acute renal failure in this study was 26%. CONCLUSIONS Acute renal failure continues to be a leading cause of mortality in a hospital setup. Prognostic scoring will help not only to explain prognosis but also in triaging patients in case of natural or manmade catastrophes causing massive influx of patients to hospitals.