Acute renal failure in Obstetrics

In a series of 31 patients with acute renal failure and pregnancy, 7 died—a mortality rate of 22 per cent. This is compared with rates as high as 57 per cent, when all causes of acute renal failure, including those in nonobstetric patients, are considered. The most important etiologic factor noted with induced abortion seemed to be overwhelming sepsis. No patient in late pregnancy developed acute cortical necrosis. The highest mortality figures are seen in patients with unrelated, underlying renal disease or medical conditions not necessarily related to the pregnancy itself.