Prognosis

Dependent on cause of acute renal failure.

If the cause of renal failure was acute tubular necrosis then there is an excellent renal prognosis with about 95% of patients recovering satisfactory renal function within 6 weeks.

The patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) as a result of severe trauma, multisystem failure and overwhelming sepsis is poor. If these patients survive then their renal function will return to normal within a few months in most cases.

AKI as a result of cortical failure leaves the potential for only partial, if any, restoration of kidney function.

Overall, the prognosis has not significantly been improved during the last 20-30 years, although substantial progress has been achieved in intensive care medicine and dialysis treatment, respectively (1)

• in the mid-nineteen seventies 70% of all patients with AKI died. Mortality moderately decreased until the early nineties (30-50%) and remained stable over the last 20 years
• poor prognosis partly results from the disease leading to AKI per se but also ensues from complications associated with AKI

Reference:

1. Patschan D, Muller GA. Acute kidney injury. J Inj Violence Res. 2015 Jan;7(1):19-26.