RENAL FAILURE IN CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER.

The clinical course and autopsy findings of three patients with acute renal failure terminating the course of cirrhosis of the liver are presented. Review of the literature demonstrated that where decompensated cirrhosis is present the renal blood flow is characteristically low, although the total cardiac output is elevated. This circulatory disturbance results in the production of urine low in sodium, although normal in solute content. It also renders the kidney more vulnerable to further, sometimes minor, reductions in renal blood flow. As more patients with hepatic cirrhosis live through episodes of gastrointestinal bleeding and hepatic coma, death in acute renal failure will undoubtedly become more common.