Abstract
Acute renal failure (ARF) is characterized by a rapid reduction in glomerular filtration rate with secondary retention of slag (hyperazotemia, hypercreatininemia, alteration of the electrolyte balance, acidosis) due to organic or functional causes.
ARF may be secondary to hypotension (prerenal ARF), acute obstruction of the urinary tract (postrenal ARF) or complication of a preexisting renal disease (renal ARF).
It is essential to make the differential diagnosis between prerenal, renal, and postrenal ARF because the therapies are different according to the cause.
Usually, the prerenal ARF resolves by rapidly restoring blood volume; in acute tubular necrosis (ATN) this therapeutic approach is ineffective and potentially dangerous; the treatment of postrenal ARF is surgical.
The differential diagnosis between the different causes of ARF is mainly based on the history, clinical and laboratory data; diagnostic imaging provides useful information to confirm the diagnosis.
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Spezzacatene, A., Sachs, C., Campo, I. (2021). Acute Kidney Injury: Color Doppler US. In: Granata, A., Bertolotto, M. (eds) Imaging in Nephrology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60794-4_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60794-4_7
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