Blood Volume Contraction Research Articles

Approach to pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma in children and adolescents: A retrospective clinical study from a tertiary care center

Pheochromocytoma (PCC) and paraganglioma (PGL) are rare tumors in childhood. They are catecholamine secreting tumors and present with signs or symptoms related to their excess. Most common signs and symptoms are hypertension, headache and diaphoresis. The management of children usually depend on experience of adulthood. This study is conducted to present the clinical characteristics, surgical management and outcome of childhood PCC and PGL in a tertiary care center. We reviewed clinical records of all patients operated for PCC and PGL between 2000 and 2020 retrospectively. There were 18 children operated for PCC and PGL in the study period. The female to male ratio was 1:1. The median age at diagnosis was 13 (IQR, 9-15) years. The most common presenting symptoms were headache and diaphoresis. Hypertension was the most common sign. Three patients had von Hippel-Lindau (VHL). Tumors of two patients with VHL were detected during routine follow-up. Three patients had multifocal disease. Medical preparation for surgery was carried out in all patients. Antihypertensive treatments were administered preoperatively. Since the patients are at risk for postoperative hypotension due to chronic vasoconstriction and blood volume contraction, high salt diet was recommended. Intravenous normal saline at a rate of 3000ml/m2 body surface area per day was started for intravascular volume expansion preoperatively. The mean duration for preoperative medication to achieve normal blood pressure was 22 days (range, 16-30). Twenty-five tumors were excised in eighteen patients. One patient who had bone metastases on diagnosis and is on I131MIBG therapy. The median follow-up time was 5.6 years (range, 1 months - 21 years). Five patients reached adulthood during the study period. Four of these had recurrent metastases (n=2) and new tumors (pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, n=1 and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor and renal cell carcinoma, n=1) after the age of 18. Multidisciplinary approach is necessary to achieve safe surgical treatment and surveillance of PCC and PGL. Detection of associated familial cancer susceptibility syndromes and long-term follow-up is essential to detect late recurrences and new tumors.

Judicious use of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors in patients with diabetes on coronavirus-19 pandemic.

Sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), a novel antidiabetic drug blocks the reabsorption of glucose in proximal tubules of kidney, are demonstrated to have cardiovascular and renal benefits for people with diabetes. The benefits are associated with the significant increase of intrarenal angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2) expression and blood volume contraction. However, the increased ACE2 may be detrimental to patients infected with the coronavirus infection 2019 (COVID-19), which is found to invade cells via the entry receptor of ACE2. Besides, an SGLT2i-induced natriuretic effect may also increase the risk of acute kidney injury and affect the hemodynamic stability during systemic infection disease. In this article, we explain the mechanisms why the use of SGLT2i in people with diabetes may lead to worse outcomes and suggest clinician to judiciously use it during COVID-19 pandemic.

The effectiveness of tranexamic acid at reducing postoperative blood loss following cesarean section: a systematic review of quantitative evidence protocol

The effectiveness of tranexamic acid at reducing postoperative blood loss following cesarean section: a systematic review of quantitative evidence protocol

Extravascular Lung Water, B-Type Natriuretic Peptide, and Blood Volume Contraction Enable Diagnosis of Weaning-Induced Pulmonary Edema*

We tested whether the changes in extravascular lung water indexed for ideal body weight could detect weaning-induced pulmonary edema. We also studied the diagnostic value of blood volume contraction indices and B-type natriuretic peptide variations. Prospective study. Twenty-one patients who failed a first spontaneous breathing trial. None. We performed a second 60-minute T-tube spontaneous breathing trial. Before and at the end of spontaneous breathing trial, we recorded pulmonary artery occlusion pressure, the extravascular lung water indexed for ideal body weight, plasma B-type natriuretic peptide level, hemoglobin, and plasma protein concentrations. Weaning-induced pulmonary edema was defined by the association of signs of clinical intolerance and a pulmonary artery occlusion pressure greater than or equal to 18 mm Hg at the end of spontaneous breathing trial. Because some patients performed several spontaneous breathing trial, a primary analysis included all spontaneous breathing trial and a secondary analysis included only the first spontaneous breathing trial of each patient. In primary analysis, 36 spontaneous breathing trials were analyzed, 21 spontaneous breathing trial with weaning-induced pulmonary edema and 15 without. During spontaneous breathing trial, extravascular lung water indexed for ideal body weight increased only in cases with weaning-induced pulmonary edema (25% ± 23%). Plasma protein concentration, hemoglobin concentration, and B-type natriuretic peptide also significantly increased only in cases with weaning-induced pulmonary edema (9% ± 3%, 9% ± 4%, 21% ± 23%, respectively). The areas under the receiver operating characteristics curves to detect weaning-induced pulmonary edema were 0.89 (95% CI, 0.78-0.99) for extravascular lung water indexed for ideal body weight, 0.97 (0.93-1.01) for spontaneous breathing trial-induced changes in plasma protein concentration, 0.96 (0.90-1.01) for changes in hemoglobin concentration, and 0.76 (0.60-0.93) for changes in B-type natriuretic peptide. An increase in extravascular lung water indexed for ideal body weight greater than or equal to 14% diagnosed weaning-induced pulmonary edema with a sensitivity of 67% (95% CI, 43-85%) and a specificity of 100% (95% CI, 78-100%). The secondary analysis confirmed these results. Spontaneous breathing trial-induced increases in extravascular lung water indexed for ideal body weight, plasma protein concentrations, hemoglobin concentration, and B-type natriuretic peptide are reliable alternatives to the pulmonary artery catheter for diagnosing weaning-induced pulmonary edema.

Extravascular lung water, B-type natriuretic peptide and blood volume contraction for diagnosing weaning-induced pulmonary edema

We compared three different methods for diagnosing pulmonary edema induced by weaning from mechanical ventilation: the increase in extravascular lung water index (EVLWI), the increase in B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and blood volume contraction, reflected by increases in plasma protein and in hemoglobin concentrations, all observed during a spontaneous breathing trial (SBT).

Lessons from liver transplantation

Lessons from liver transplantation

Volume Depletion Versus Dehydration: How Understanding the Difference Can Guide Therapy

Although often used interchangeably, dehydration and volume depletion are not synonyms. Dehydration refers to loss of total-body water, producing hypertonicity, which now is the preferred term in lieu of dehydration, whereas volume depletion refers to a deficit in extracellular fluid volume. In particular, hypertonicity implies intracellular volume contraction, whereas volume depletion implies blood volume contraction. Using a case of hyperglycemic hypertonic nonketosis as an example, we examine the changing composition of body fluid spaces to explore the distinction between dehydration and hypertonicity from volume depletion.

Plasma and Blood Volume in Space

Body fluid regulation is affected by gravity. The primary mechanisms of the etiology of hypovolemia found in simulation studies on earth and after space flight are different. The increased diuresis after increase of central blood volume postulated by Henry Gauer could not be found. Based on recent findings, new hypotheses about fluid volume regulation during space flight have emerged. The reduced blood volume in space is the result of 1) a negative balance of decreased fluid intake and smaller reduction of urine output; 2) fast fluid shifts from the intravascular to interstitial space as the result of lower transmural pressure after reduced compression of all tissue by gravitational forces especially of the thorax cage; and 3) fluid shifts from intravascular to muscle interstitial space because of less muscle tone required to maintain body posture. Additionally, loss of erythrocytes reduces blood volume. The attenuated diuresis during space flight can be explained by increased retention after stress-mediated sympathetic activation during initial phase of space flight, stimulation caused by reduced red cell mass, and activation after fast blood volume contraction. Additionally, the relation between plasma osmolarity and vasopressin release might be disturbed in microgravity.

Biofeedback regulation of ultrafiltration and dialysate conductivity for the prevention of hypotension during hemodialysis.

Intradialytic hypotension remains a frequent complication of dialysis, occurring in up to 33% of patients. We tested a fully integrated biofeedback system (the Hemocontrol system) that monitors and regulates blood volume contraction during hemodialysis. Seven hypotension prone patients were selected for the study. We conducted a prospective crossover study alternating dialysis sessions using the blood volume regulation system and standard dialysis sessions. Event free sessions were defined as dialysis sessions not requiring any therapeutic intervention for hypotension related signs or symptoms. There was a significant improvement in the number of event free sessions with blood volume regulation compared with standard dialysis (50.8% of sessions vs. 29.2%; p < 0.01). Percentages of event free sessions and mean postdialysis systolic blood pressure improved progressively over the course of the study, indicating improved hemodynamic stability over the study period. Therefore, the use of a biofeedback system to monitor and regulate blood volume during dialysis was helpful in restoring cardiovascular stability in a population of hypotension prone hemodialysis patients. Further studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results and to establish the role of blood volume regulation systems in reducing the incidence of hypotension during hemodialysis.

Continuous monitoring of blood volume in double filtration plasmapheresis.

A continuous hematocrit (HCT) monitor, Crit-Line, was introduced to examine the change in patients' blood volume (BV) due to albumin loss during double filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) treatments. Nine patients with autoimmune diseases or ABO incompatible renal transplantation received 15 DFPP treatments under Crit-Line monitoring. In these patients, plasma albumin concentration (C(P)) changed from 3.7 +/- 0.6 g/dl to 3.5 +/- 0.5 g/dl and HCT from 28.7% +/- 3.3% to 31.3% +/- 4.3% (change ratio [CR] of BV = -8.1%) during treatment with albumin concentrations (C(S)) of 9.5 +/- 1.0 g/dl and 500 ml volumes (V(S)) of supplementation fluid. Although the apparent CR value of C(P) was -5.3%, on average, the CR of albumin in the patients' plasma (M(P)) was -16.1%, which means a corrected CR value of C(P) by the HCT value to eliminate the influence of the patient's blood volume contraction during treatment. Albumin loss usually occurred in DFPP treatments. The decrease in BV was induced by an oncotic pressure drop due to albumin loss, and often resulted in a blood pressure drop. The amount of albumin loss during DFPP treatments strongly depends on sieving coefficients of the plasma separator (SC(PS)) and the plasma fractionator (SC(PF)), the filtration fraction of the plasma fractionator (FF(PF)), pretreatment C(P) value, and C(S) and V(S) values of the supplementation fluid. To determine the optimum C(S) and V(S) values for each patient, the authors introduced a variable blood volume model for albumin transport in DFPP. In this model, changes in C(P), HCT, and BV values could be estimated during treatment. For example, a patient with an HCT of 31.2%, body weight of 61.1 kg, and pretreatment C(P) of 4.4 g/dl received a DFPP treatment using a plasma separator, OP-05 (SC(PS) of 0.99), and a plasma fractionator, Evaflux 2A (SC(PF) of 0.40), under FF(PF) of 0.8 with a V(S) of 500 ml. A value for C(S) of about 10 g/dl is required for the patient to maintain a normal C(P) level during treatment by an estimation from the model. As a result of the treatment with a C(S) of 10 g/dl, the patient had no adverse reactions, such as a blood pressure decrease, during treatment under these conditions.

Osmoregulation in clinical disorders of thirst appreciation

Thirst and drinking are essential components of normal osmoregulation in healthy man. Abnormalities of thirst appreciation, in particular hypodipsia, have profound implications for water homeostasis. The combination of cranial diabetes insipidus and hypodipsia can have particularly serious consequences, with the potential for life-threatening hyponatraemia. Although the tools for measuring thirst are subjective and lack true specificity, their use in clinical research has contributed greatly to our understanding of the physiology of thirst appreciation and the abnormal control of thirst in osmoregulatory disorders. The precise neural control of thirst appreciation remains unknown, and perhaps as a result of this, satisfactory therapies for the treatment of disorders of thirst have not yet been developed; behavioural modification and retraining of drinking habits remain the rather limited cornerstones of management.

Blood volume and cardiac index in rats after exchange transfusion with hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers.

We have measured plasma volume and cardiac index in rats after 50% isovolemic exchange transfusion with human hemoglobin cross-linked between the alpha-chains with bis(3,5-dibromosalicyl)fumarate (alpha alpha Hb) and with bovine hemoglobin modified with polyethylene glycol (PEGHb). alpha alpha Hb and PEGHb differ in colloid osmotic pressure (23.4 and 118.0 Torr, respectively), oxygen affinity (oxygen half-saturation pressure of hemoglobin = 30.0 and 10.2 Torr, respectively), viscosity (1.00 and 3.39 cP, respectively), and molecular weight (64,400 and 105,000, respectively). Plasma volume was measured by Evans blue dye dilution modified for interference by plasma hemoglobin. Blood volumes in PEGHb-treated animals were significantly elevated (74.0 +/- 3.5 ml/kg) compared with animals treated with alpha alpha Hb (49.0 +/- 1.2 ml/kg) or Ringer lactate (48.0 +/- 2.0 ml/kg) or with controls (58.2 +/- 1.9 ml/kg). Heart rate reduction after alpha alpha Hb exchange is opposite to that expected with blood volume contraction, suggesting that alpha alpha Hb may have a direct myocardial depressant action. The apparently slow elimination of PEGHb during the 2 h after its injection is a consequence of plasma volume expansion: when absolute hemoglobin (concentration x plasma volume) is compared for PEGHb and alpha alpha Hb, no difference in their elimination rates is found. These studies emphasize the need to understand blood volume regulation when the effects of cell-free hemoglobin on hemodynamic measurements are evaluated.

Interaction of osmotic and nonosmotic stimuli in regulation of vasopressin secretion in hypoosmolar state of man.

Vasopressin (AVP) secretion is principally under osmotic regulation, which is altered by nonosmotic stimuli. It is known that the manner of osmotic regulation of AVP secretion in hypoosmolar state of man consists of four types. The types have (A) random changes in plasma AVP without relation of plasma osmolality; (B) plasma AVP secretion correlated closely to plasma osmolality with a low osmotic threshold for AVP release; (C) nonsuppressible AVP secretion with normal osmotic release of AVP; (D) no abnormalities in AVP secretion. In this study, we found an entirely different type of AVP secretion from the above types in six patients with hyponatremia resulting from various causes during infusion of 5% hypertonic saline. To clarify the mechanism underlying the AVP secretion, we analyzed the interaction between osmotic and nonosmotic stimuli of AVP secretion in these patients. Despite hyponatremia, plasma AVP levels in all patients were not suppressed, which was attributed at least in part to the presence of nonosmotic stimuli for AVP release. These stimuli include nausea, hypotension, blood volume contraction, glucocorticoid deficiency or their combinations. Hypertonic saline infusion increased both serum sodium concentrations and plasma osmolality, although to subnormal levels, and concomitantly, alleviated some of the nonosmotic stimuli for AVP release formerly present in these patients. However, plasma AVP concentrations decreased rapidly during the infusion and reached the nadir in all patients. This phenomenon may be due to alleviation of nonosmotic stimuli for AVP release. Thus, the findings indicate that the potentiating effect of nonosmotic stimuli for AVP secretion may modify the osmotic regulation of AVP secretion in hypoosmolar state, resulting in the type of AVP secretion in this study.

Plasma volume contraction in portal hypertension

The effect of blood volume contraction induced by a 4-week regimen of spironolactone (100 mg/day) or furosemide (40 mg/day) on the hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG), an indicator of portal hypertension, was evaluated in patients with cirrhosis and no ascites. In the spironolactone group (n = 15), HVPG decreased significantly from 16.5 +/- 0.9 mmHg (mean +/- S.E.M.) to 12.9 +/- 1.0 mmHg (P < 0.005) and total blood volume contracted significantly from 4338 +/- 231 ml to 4006 +/- 203 ml (n = 14, P < 0.01). Although the HVPG changes did not correlate significantly with changes in measured total blood volume or in simultaneously determined systemic haemodynamics, a significant inverse correlation (r = -0.74, P < 0.01, n = 12) was found between the HVPG change and posttreatment plasma aldosterone levels, attesting to the effectiveness of spironolactone therapy in lowering HVPG. In the furosemide group (n = 10), neither HVPG (13.7 +/- 0.3 mmHg vs. 13.6 +/- 0.9 mmHg) nor total blood volume (4961 +/- 153 ml vs. 4964 +/- 162 ml) declined significantly. These results show that long-term administration of spironolactone to patients with cirrhosis and no ascites produced a significant reduction in HVPG that may have been due to gradual, sustained volume contraction. Thus, spironolactone may prove to be an effective treatment for portal hypertension in cirrhosis without ascites.

Hyperinsulinemia or Increased Sympathetic Drive as Links for Obesity and Hypertension

The association of obesity with hypertension has been amply demonstrated in cross-sectional, longitudinal, and dietary-intervention studies, but the mechanisms remain enigmatic. Both conditions are independently characterized by similar metabolic alterations, i.e., glucose intolerance, dyslipoproteinemia, elevated serum uric acid, and inadequate Na+ transport. Obesity, hypertension, and these metabolic alterations are associated with hyperinsulinemia/insulin resistance. The degree of these alterations is lowest in lean hypertensives, intermediate in obese normotensives, and greatest in obese hypertensives, but mortality risk is highest in lean hypertensives. This apparent discrepancy may be related to the divergent hemodynamic characteristics, possibly indicating different etiology, of lean and obese hypertensives, i.e., contracted blood volume, increased total vascular peripheral resistance, and normal sympathetic drive in the former, expanded blood volume, normal peripheral resistance, and increased sympathetic drive in the latter. Current knowledge suggests that the interrelationships of obesity and hypertension with the metabolic alterations could be mediated by high carbohydrate and fat consumption and low physical activity, resulting in obesity and separate pathways in hyperinsulinemia and increased sympathetic drive, leading to a double vicious cycle. In one, hyperinsulinemia and the consequent insulin resistance would compound one another. In the second, the increasing hyperinsulinemia would increasingly stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. This double vicious cycle could result in increasing hemodynamic and metabolic derangements causing hypertension, diabetes, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The association of lean hypertension with ASCVD may be through other mechanisms, e.g., hemodynamic forces on the vascular endothelium.

Left ventricular mechanics in preeclampsia

Increased systemic vascular resistance and contracted blood volume are characteristic findings in preeclampsia. These alterations in cardiovascular hemodynamics can adversely affect ejection phase indices of left ventricular performance making it difficult to separate abnormalities resulting from changes in load from those caused by depressed myocardial contractility. To address this issue the contractility-sensitive, load-independent relationship between left ventricular end-systolic wall stress and rate-corrected velocity of fiber shortening was assessed in 10 nulliparous patients with preeclampsia. Comparisons were made with data obtained from 10 age-matched normotensive women with uncomplicated pregnancies (control subjects). Studies were performed by means of two-dimensionally targeted M-mode echocardiography and calibrated carotid pulse tracings during early labor, 1 day after delivery, and 4 weeks after delivery. During early labor and 1 day after delivery, patients with preeclampsia had elevated blood pressure and increased total systemic resistance. These parameters returned to normal by 4 weeks after delivery. Before delivery and 24 hours after delivery, the patients with preeclampsia had lower overall left ventricular performance (as measured by cardiac output and rate-corrected velocity of fiber shortening) and higher left ventricular afterload (as measured by left ventricular end-systolic wall stress) when compared with control subjects. These differences were no longer present 4 weeks after delivery. Despite the time-related intergroup differences in hemodynamics, left ventricular contractility was similar between normotensive and preeclampsic subjects at all stages of the study. Thus when load is eliminated as a confounding variable, the decrements in overall left ventricular performance measured in patients with preeclampsia reflect a mechanically appropriate response to increased afterload rather than an abnormality in the ventricular contractile state.

Maternal dehydration-rehydration: fetal plasma and urinary responses.

Pregnant women may be exposed to exercise, thermal, or gastrointestinal (hyperemesis) water loss, all of which commonly induce a greater than 10 mosmol increase in plasma osmolality. Although fetal osmolality is dependent on maternal osmolality, the impact of maternal dehydration and subsequent maternal rehydration on the fetus has not been explored. Five pregnant ewes with singleton fetuses (136 +/- 1 day) were water deprived for 36 h resulting in a significant increase in plasma osmolality (298 +/- 3.4 to 313 +/- 5.0 mosmol). In response to maternal dehydration, fetal plasma osmolality (297.0 +/- 4.1 to 309.3 +/- 4.1 mosmol), arginine vasopressin (AVP) levels (1.5 +/- 0.2 to 7.9 +/- 1.0 pg/ml), hematocrit (35.1 to 38.6%), and urine osmolality (161.3 +/- 10.7 to 348.9 +/- 21.9 mosmol) significantly increased. Subsequently, ewes were rehydrated over 4 h with intravenously infused 0.45% saline (20 ml.kg-1.h-1). In response to maternal rehydration, maternal and fetal plasma osmolality decreased to basal values (298.9 +/- 3.2 and 300.1 +/- 3.8 mosmol, respectively) and fetal glomerular filtration rate (1.72 +/- 0.30 to 3.08 +/- 0.66 ml/min) and urine volume significantly increased (0.33 +/- 0.02 to 0.71 +/- 0.13 ml/min). However, fetal hematocrit (37.4%), plasma AVP (3.1 +/- 0.9 pg/ml), and urine osmolality (255.4 +/- 28.8 mosmol) did not return to basal levels during the observation period. These results demonstrate fetal hyperosmolality, blood volume contraction, AVP secretion, and altered urine production in response to maternal dehydration. Despite maternal rehydration and normalization of maternal and fetal plasma osmolality, fetal endocrine and fluid responses are prolonged.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Autoregulation of the systemic circulation in conscious rats.

Autoregulation of blood flow in various organ systems is a well-documented phenomenon. However, the net effect of these regional autoregulatory responses on the systemic circulation has not been studied in conscious rats despite the now extensive use of rats in cardiovascular research. The ability of the systemic circulation to autoregulate cardiac output has been proposed to play an important role in the development of increased vascular resistance in volume-dependent forms of hypertension. To better understand these events, we characterized responses to acute increases and decreases in blood volume in conscious areflexic rats that were chronically instrumented with arterial and venous catheters and an electromagnetic flow probe around the ascending aorta. Neurohumoral blockade was achieved with chlorisondamine (10 mg/kg), methscopolamine (0.5 mg/kg), captopril (1.0 mg/kg), and d(CH2)5Tyr(Me)arginine vasopressin (10 micrograms/kg). Mean arterial pressure was restored to normal levels with a constant i.v. norepinephrine infusion, which resulted in normal values of cardiac output, total peripheral resistance, and blood gases. Blood volume expansion (0.9 ml i.v. blood infusion for 6 minutes) increased cardiac output 9 +/- 1% and mean arterial pressure 30 +/- 3% and caused a 22 +/- 2% increase in total peripheral resistance (n = 7). Blood volume contraction (6-minute withdrawal of 0.9 ml of blood) decreased cardiac output 12 +/- 1% and mean arterial pressure 26 +/- 4%, which resulted in a 16 +/- 4% decrease in total peripheral resistance (n = 8). The slopes of the pressure-flow relationships during volume expansion were 0.24 and 0.41 during volume contraction, as compared with a nonautoregulating system (slope = 1) and a completely autoregulating system (slope = 0).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The neurosecretory system of the octopus vena cava: A neurohemal organ

Endings of about two million small neurones form a voluminous neuropil inside the vena cava of cephalopods, in direct contact with the blood. These nerve endings are filled with masses of typical neurosecretory granules. By immunocytochemistry we could distinguish three different populations of secretory endings in the vena cava neuropil ofOctopus vulgaris: 1) a population of endings which were immunoreactive with antibodies against the pentapeptide proctolin; 2) a population with oxytocin/vasopressin- and neurophysin-like immunoreactivity; 3) a population immunoreactive with antibodies which were raised against the molluscan cardioexcitatory peptide Phe-Met-Arg-Phe-amide, against α-melanotropin, and against atriopeptin. Extracts of the octopus vena cava stimulated amplitude and frequency of the isolated octopus heart preparation. Similar effects were exerted by peptides with the C-terminal structure-Arg-Phe-amide. Recently, we could isolate and identify in vena cava extracts four peptides; Phe-Met-Arg-Phe-amide, Phe-Leu-Arg-Phe-amide, Ala-Phe-Leu-Arg-Phe-amide and Thr-Phe-Leu-Arg-Phe-amide. Other peptides have not yet been identified. The fact that the peptides against which the immunoreactive antibodies were raised affected, in different organisms, blood volume, blood pressure, renal function and heart contraction suggests that one of the main functions of the neurosecretory system of the vena cava is a hormonal control of circulation.

Acute renal failure in pregnancy: 1987.

Acute renal failure has become a rare complication of pregnancy due to the virtual disappearance of septic abortion and to better prenatal care, including prevention of blood volume contraction. The incidence of bilateral renal cortical necrosis also decreased in recent years. Severe preeclampsia-eclampsia may be accompanied by acute tubular necrosis. Acute fatty liver of pregnancy is often associated with renal failure. It is a medical emergency. The diagnosis should be made promptly, before liver failure becomes too severe. This should be followed by immediate delivery. In postpartum hemolytic uremic syndrome, plasma infusion, plasma exchange, and/or antiplatelet drug therapy may be of value.