Acute renal failure in asphyxiated newborns.

The study was undertaken to evaluate the occurrence of renal failure following perinatal asphyxia in the newborns. Thirty newborns with severe birth asphyxia were included in the study along with 30 normal newborns who comprised the control group. Any neonate presenting with oliguria or blood urea more than 40 mg/dl or creatinine more than 1 mg/dl was subjected to a fluid and diuretic challenge. If oliguria or renal dysfunction persisted then the child was labelled as renal failure and these subjects were further investigated. It was observed that 43% of asphyxiated babies developed acute renal failure (ARF); 69.2% babies had oliguric renal failure. While no significant correlation could be seen between Apgar scores at 5 and 10 min and development of ARF, a significant relationship was seen between hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and ARF. Patients with oliguric ARF carried a poorer prognosis as compared to non-oliguric ARF.