ABSTRACT
Acute renal failure (ARF) constitutes a highly lethal condition when associated with surgery
or trauma (45-70% mortality) despite significant improvement in dialytic treatment in the
last decades. Prevention of this complication relies on early identification of predisposing
risk factors and careful preoperative evaluation of the patient’s renal function. As a
variety of conditions may be responsible for the development of ARF in the surgical
patient, determining the etiology of ARF is imperative to provide adequate therapy. The
classification of ARF into prerenal, renal, or postrenal causes is presented in Chapter 34.
Acute tubular necrosis (ATN), a term often used interchangeably with ARF, is the most
common form of ARF observed after trauma or surgery.
