Strategies for management of acute renal failure.

Acute renal failure (ARF) is often defined as the sudden inability of the kidneys to regulate water and solute balance. ARF may be more broadly defined as rapid deterioration of renal function resulting in the accumulation of nitrogenous wastes such as urea and creatinine. Clinically, oliguria is defined as urine flow of less than 2 mL/kg/h and anuria has no measurable urine production. In animals, the most common cause of ARF is nephrotoxicity; ischemia ranks second, with interstitial and glomerular diseases following.