Guanidino Compounds in Patients with Acute Renal Failure

Abstract

Alterations in urea cycle activity in acute renal failure (ARF) may have important metabolic consequences. There are many reports which study the concentration of guanidino compounds (GC) in the sera of patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) and the relationship of these substances to the degree of renal failure1. In a recent publication2, we pointed out that there were very few reports on GC in ARF and that the relative importance of the plasma level of GC in the pathogenesis of ARF was uncertain. To predict the clinical course of ARF, it might be useful clinically to know of changes in GC, many of which are potential uremic toxins. As reported at the fifth Symposium on the Analysis of GC in Japan (Osaka, 1982), it is of interest to trace variations in GC for determining the course and prognosis of ARF. The purpose of this study is to trace the clinical meaning of GC in ARF, and to observe changes in GC by making circle diagrams called guanidinograms. We describe our cumulative studies on GC in 50 patients with ARF.