Current knowledge in falciparum malaria-induced acute renal failure.

Plasmodium falciparum is highly prevalent in the tropics. Acute renal failure (ARF) is a common complication in severe falciparum malaria. The disorder is usually oliguric or anuric and hypercatabolic. Acute tubular necrosis (ATN), the principal pathologic lesion in falciparum malaria-induced ARF, is mediated by a complex interaction of mechanical, immunologic, cytokine, humoral, acute phase response, non specific factors, and hemodynamics factors. Parasitized erythrocytes express a central role in all aforementioned pathogenic factors of ARF.