Abstract
Elderly individuals comprise the faster growing patient population group and acute renal failure (ARF) is quite common among them, although exact numbers are not known. We reviewed the literature with regards to the characteristics of ARF in elderly patients and describe some useful guidelines. The ageing kidney is characterized by many structural and functional changes, which are mainly due to various chronic disorders, such as hypertension, diabetes and atherosclerosis, which are highly prevalent in these patients. A number of structural and functional changes characteristic of the ageing kidney make elderly people especially prone to renal damage. ARF in the elderly is frequently of multifactorial origin and often with an atypical presentation, like the “intermediate syndrome”, which combines characteristics of pre-renal azotemia and acute tubular necrosis. Physical examination and laboratory blood and urine indices may sometimes be misleading occasionally leading to misdiagnosis. Prophylaxis remains the preferred approach to therapy: one should avoid nephrotoxic drugs and poly-pharmacy, adjust drug doses and achieve adequate hydration of the patient as cautiously as possible. Dialysis therapies can be used for treatment of ARF irrespective of age and carry a good prognosis.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Canada Health Organisation (2000) A guide to end of life care for seniors
Lameire N (2005) Recent advances in clinical acute renal failure. Rev Port Nefrol Hypert 19(1):15–30
Lameire N, Nelde A, Hoeben H, Vanholder R (2000) Acute renal failure in the elderly. In: Oreopoulos D, Hazzard W, Luke R (eds) Nephrology and geriatrics integrated. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp93–111
Obialo CI, Crowell AK, Okonofua EC (2002) Acute renal failure mortality in hospitalised African Americans: age and gender considerations. J Am Med Assoc 94(3):127–134
Lou LM, Boned B, Gomez Sanchez R (2002) Characteristics of acute renal failure in elderly patients admitted to a small town hospital. Nefrologia 22(6):547–554
Groeneveld ABJ, Tran DO, Van der Meulen J (1991) Acute renal failure in the intensive care unit: predisposing, complicating factors affecting outcome. Nephron 59:602–610
Silva FG (2005) The aging kidney: a review-part 1. Int Urol Nephrol 37(1):185–205
Abrahamson DR (2003) Unveiling mesangial mysteries. Kidney Int 64:363–364
Baylis C, Corman B (1998) The aging kidney: insights from experimental studies. J Am Soc Nephrol 9:699–709
Musso CG (2002) Geriatric nephrology and the “nephrogeriatric giants”. Int Urol Nephrol 34:255–256
Macías Núñez JF, García Iglesias C, Bondía Román A, Rodríguez Commes JL, et al (1978) Renal handling of sodium in old people: a functional study. Age and ageing 7:178–181
Percy C, Pat B, Poronnik P, Cobe G (2005) Role of oxidative stress in age-associated chronic kidney pathologies. Adv Chronic Kidney Dis 12(1):78–83
Beck LH (1998) Changes in renal function with aging. Clin Geriatr Medicine 11:199–209
Verhave JC, Balje-Volkers C, Hillege HL, de Zeeuw D, et al (2003) The reliability of different formulae to predict creatinine clearance. J Intern Med 253(5):563–573
Hoang K, Tan JC, Derby G, et al (2003) Determinants of glomerular hypofiltration in aging humans. Kidney Int 64:1417–1424
Johnson TM, Miller M, Pillion DJ, Ouslander JG (2003) Arginine vasopressin and nocturnal polyuria in older adults with frequent nighttime voiding. J Urol 170(2):480–484
Kohli HS, Nuthukumar T, Sakhuja V (2000) Treatment-related acute renal failure in the elderly: a hospital-based prospective study. Nephrol Dial Transplant 15(2):212–217
Spangler PF, Risley TR, Bilyew DD (1984) The management of dehydration and incontinence in non-ambulatory geriatric patients. J Appl Behaviour Anal 17:397–401
Weinberg AD, Pals JK, Levesque PG (1994) Dehydration and death during febrile episodes in the nursing house. J Am Geriatr Soc 42:968–971
Huerta C, Castellsague J, Varas- Lorenzo C, Garcia Rodriguez LA (2005) Non-steroidal antiinflamatory drugs and risk of acute renal failure in the general population. Am J Kidney Dis 45(3):531–539
Zarich S, Fang LST, Diamond JR (1985) Fractional excretion of sodium: exceptions to its use. Arch Int Med 1451:108–112
Pascual J, Ortofino L, Liano F, et al (1990) Incidence and prognosis of acute renal failure in older patients. J Am Geriatr Soc 38:25–30
Nair R, Bell JM, Wakler PD (2004) Renal biopsy in patients over 80 years and older. Am J Kidney Dis 44(4):618–626
Perez Almeida E, Blanco Pascual E (2000) The patient with immobility syndrome. In: Macías Núñez JF, Guillén Llera FG, Ribera Casado JM (eds) Geriatrics from the beginning, Editorial Glosa, Barcelona, pp 135–152
Baum N, Suarez G, Appell RA (1991) Urinary incontinence. Not a normal part of aging. Postgrad Med 90:99–102
Wielinski CL, Erickson-Davis C, Wichmann R, Walde-Douglas M, Parashos SA (2005) Falls and injuries resulting from falls among patients with Parkinson’s disease and other parkinsonian syndromes. Mov Disord 20:410–415
Musso CG, Macías Núñez JF (2000) The aged kidney: structure and function. Main nephropathies. In: Salgado A, Guillén Llera FG, Ruipérez I (eds) Geriatrics from the beginning. Masson, Barcelona, pp 399–412
Linas SL, Whittenburg D, Parsons PE, Repine JE (1992) Mild renal ischemia activates primed neutrophils to cause acute renal failure. Kidney Int 42:610–616
Jerkic M, Vojvodic S, Lopez-Novoa JM (2001) The mechanism of increased renal susceptibility to toxic substances in the elderly. Part I. The role of increased vasoconstriction. Int Urol Nephrol 32(4):539–47
Musso CG, Luque K, Reynaldi J, Pidoux R, et al (2004) Intermediate syndrome: a typical pattern of acute renal failure in the elderly. biomed.uninet.edu 3
Adhiyaman V, Asghar M, Oke A, White AD, Shah IU (2001) Nephrotoxicity in the elderly due to co-prescription of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. J R Soc Med 94:512–514
Pereira CN, Machado FR, Guimavalo HP, Senna AP, do Amaral J (2004) Hemodynamics and renal function during administration of low-dose dopamine in severely ill patients. Sao Paolo Med J 122(4):141–146
Ischai C, Passeron C, Carles M, Bouregba M, Grimand D (2000) Prolonged low-dose dopamine infusion induces a transient improvement in renal function in hemodynamicaly stable, critically ill patients: a single-blind, prospective, controlled study. Crit Care Med 28(5):1329–1335
Piper SN, Kumle B, Boldt J (2003) Diltiazem may preserve renal tubular integrity after cardiac surgery. Can J Anaesth 50(3):285–292
Parrish AE (1992) Complications of percutaneous renal biopsy. A review of 37 years experience. Clin Nephrol 38(3):135–141
Gonzalez-Michaca L, Chew-Wong A, Soltero L (2000) Percutaneous renal biopsy: analysis of 26 years––complications’ rate and risk factors. Rev Invest Clin 52(1):125–131
Baraldi A, Ballestri M, Rapana R, Lucchi L, et al (1998) Acute renal failure of medical type in an elderly population. Nephrol Dial Transplant 13(Suppl 7):25–29
Stefanidis I, Hagel J, Kierdorf H, Maurin N (1995) Influencing hemostasis during continuous venovenous hemofiltration after acute renal failure: comparison with intermittent hemodialysis. Contrib Nephrol 116:140–144
Van de Noortgate N, Verbeke F, Dhondt A, Colardijn F, et al (2002) The dialytic management of acute renal failure in the elderly. Semin Dial 15(2):127–132
Mandal AK, Baig M, Koutoubi Z (1996) Management of acute renal failure in the elderly. Treatment options. Drugs Aging 4:226–250
Klouche K, Cristol JP, Kaaki M, Turc-Baron C, et al (1995) Prognosis of acute renal failure in the elderly. Nephrol Dial Transplant 10(12):2240–2243
Santacruz F, Barreto S, Mayor MM, Cabrera W, et al (1996) Mortality in elderly patients with acute renal failure. Ren Fail 18(4):601–605
Pascual J, Liano F (1998) Causes and prognosis of acute renal failure in the very old. J Am Geriatr Soc 46(6):721–725
Sesso R, Roque A, Viciosos B, Stella S (2004) Prognosis of ARF in hospitalized elderly patients. Am J Kidney Dis 44(3):410–419
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Musso, C.G., Liakopoulos, V., Ioannidis, I. et al. Acute renal failure in the elderly: particular characteristics. Int Urol Nephrol 38, 787–793 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11255-006-0084-4
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11255-006-0084-4