ABSTRACT
Acute renal failure (ARF) is a commonly seen complication of critical illness, and carries an additional grave prognosis for its sufferers. It occurs in about 5% of all general hospital patients. By various reports, the frequency of ARF among patients is 1% at the time of admission, 2% to 5% during hospitalization, and as high as 4% to 15% after cardiopulmonary bypass. It is associated with a greater than 50% mortality rate, and increases the relative risk of death by 6.2-fold (1). Even in patients who survive hospitalization and ARF to discharge, duration of stay is prolonged, adding additional costs to their medical care. Between 20% and 60% of patients with ARF would develop end-stage renal disease (ESRD), requiring long-term dialysis, which adds further to healthcare costs and significantly affects the quality of life (2).
