Clinical use of cimetidine in acute renal failure after resection of abdominal aneurysms.

Abstract

Gastrointestinal bleeding and infection are leading causes of mortality in patients with acute renal failure. Cimetidine, an H2 blocker, has been reported to be useful in the treatment of duodenal ulceration in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Sequential organ failure is common in patients who have had resection of dissecting abdominal aneurysms. Because acute renal failure is included in the definition of sequential organ failure, we attempted to determine whether cimetidine could significantly reduce gastrointestinal bleeding in our series of patients who had acute renal failure after resection of dissecting abdominal aneurysms.