Acute Renal Failure Complication

When operating normally, the kidneys serve to eliminate wastes from the blood. However, when a person experiences acute renal failure, the kidneys cease proper functioning. This causes fluids, electrolytes and wastes to build in the blood, which can cause severe side effects.

Differences Between Acute and Chronic

• There are two forms of renal failure: acute and chronic. The chief differentiating element is time: Chronic renal failure occurs over a long period and results in the gradual loss of kidney function, which is often linked to chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes and other conditions.

  In comparison, acute renal failure occurs suddenly and often without warning. Acute failure is often associated with hospitalized patients, particularly those who have undergone extensive surgery, have experienced a life-threatening injury or have lost a degree of blood flow to the kidneys.

Severe Complications

• Your kidneys are vital to your body's everyday functions. While it is possible to reverse acute renal failure in some patients, for others acute kidney failure can result in a permanent loss of kidney function, which is known as end-stage renal disease. This condition requires a permanent dialysis machine to function where the kidneys cannot, or a kidney transplant.

  In addition to this severe condition, acute renal failure can be fatal in some instances. This chiefly occurs in patients who are experiencing other complicating factors, such as recovery from severe surgical trauma.

Other Complications

• In addition to severe effects, acute renal failure can cause problems such as cardiac arrhythmia, which is an abnormal heartbeat. Arrhythmias occur when the kidneys are unable to filter potassium from the blood, and it begins to build up and affect the heart.

  Other complications that occur due to fluid buildup in the body include pulmonary edema (a swelling of the airways in the lungs making breathing difficult) and congestive heart failure as a result of too much fluid.

Prevention

• Unlike chronic kidney failure, which is often preventable if patients will make certain lifestyle changes, acute renal failure cannot be as easily prevented. However, a patient can take precautions to ensure the kidneys are in the best shape, making a full recovery more possible. These include not abusing drugs or alcohol as well as over-the-counter medications that can damage the kidneys, such as aspirin, acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

Treatments to Reduce Complications

• Once acute renal failure is diagnosed, a physician should immediately begin delivering treatments to spare the kidneys and prevent serious or potentially fatal complications. These include placing a patient on dialysis to allow the kidneys to rest and heal, putting him on a low-protein and low-potassium diet designed to place the least burden on the kidneys and prescribing medications to lower potassium levels in the blood.