Oliguria and its sequelae.
Fifty-nine patients were seen with oliguria in 1975. Forty had acute renal failure (ARF) and 19 rapidly reversible oliguria (RR). The causes of the oliguria were medical (64%), surgical (27%) and obstetrical (9%). The following were valuable in the assessment of patients with oliguria: urine sodium concentration (UNa) and osmolality, coagulation studies and high dose intravenous urography. Patients presenting with a high UNa or a coagulation abnormality were more likely to have ARF. Central venous pressure monitoring was helpful in the initial management but the administration of diuretics was not. Twenty patients with ARF were treated conservatively and the remainder by dialysis. Infection was both the commonest complication of ARF and the most frequent cause of death. Seventy percent of those with ARF died. Death was more common in the elderly or patients with a medical aetiology. The mortality of ARF remains high in spite of advances in the management of its metabolic and infective complications because of the acceptance of more high risk patients. An improved awareness of the preventable causes of oliguria is apparent.