ABSTRACT
The kidney regulates fluid, electrolyte, acid-base, and metabolite balance, and disorders of renal function will usually declare themselves with disruptions in homeostasis of these systems. Renal failure is often accompanied by hypoalbuminemia, which has been linked to malnutrition and, more recently, to inflammatory processes. In the critical care setting, as many as one in three admissions will develop some form of acute renal failure (ARF). Those cases severe enough to require renal replacement therapy (RRT) suffer high mortality, a condition which has persisted despite advances
Acute renal failure may be better understood as a syndrome rather than a disease in itself, which often becomes evident with uremia, electrolyte abnormalities, acid-base disturbances, or fluid overload.1 Few patients may be admitted to the ICU solely on the basis of renal failure, yet sources estimate from 3 to 30% of these admissions will develop acute renal failure.2 In Hoste et al.,16.2% of 185 septic patients developed ARF and 70% of these required renal replacement therapy (RRT).3
