Acute renal failure secondary to fecal impaction.

A 23-year-old man presented with a massive fecal impaction, and was subsequently found to be in renal failure along with the presence of intraperitoneal free air on x-ray. Following disimpaction, the renal failure rapidly resolved and exploratory laporotomy revealed no colonic perforations. Obstructive renal failure resulting from fecal impaction is a rare but reported complication. In this report acute renal failure is attributed to severe fecal impaction.