The characteristics of acute renal failure in older persons.

During 1983 and 1984 12 patients suffering of acute renal failure aged 65 or more were treated in the Intensive Care Unit. All patients were oliguric at the moment of the acceptance. In six of them laboratory parameters: the renal failure index and the excretional fraction of filtered sodium indicated functional oliguria. In other six patients acute renal failure of the parenchymal type was present with a renal failure index from 3.8 to 34.7. Four patients were treated with the extracorporeal hemodialysis because of the lack of the adequate diuresis following the rational treatment. The patients suffered from: cardiogenic shock, sepsis, dehydration, acute pancreatitis, coma during medicamentous intoxication, osteomyelitis, urosepsis and thrombosis of the abdominal aorta. The urine osmolality was not specific enough for the differentiation of the type of acute renal failure, the urine: plasma osmolality ratio and the creatinine urine: plasma ratio were of greater values and the renal failure index and the excretional fraction of filtered sodium were referring parameters for the differentiation of the type of acute renal failure.