Acute renal failure in newborn: etiology and mortality rate in jordan patients.

A retrospective multicenter study of 38 cases of acute renal failure (ARF) in newborns was carried out from April 1992 to September 1995 in the pediatric department so f a group hospitals of he Royal Medical Services in Jordan, to evaluate the etiology and the mortality rate in the first month of life. ARF was diagnosed according to the urine out put, serum level of creatinine and blood urea nitrogen. Neonatal asphyxia, the most common cause in this study, accounted for 42% (N=16) of renal failure and was associated with the highest mortality rate 70% (N=11). Drugs (aminoglycosides or vancomycin), the second most common cause of renal failure, accounted for 14% (N=7), but no patient sided. Septicemia accounted for 15.7% (N=6) of renal failure; one patients died. Three cases were due to genitorreal anomalies, one died with real agenesis. The other six cases were of different causes, four of them died. None of the newborns was treated by dialysis. We conclude that neonatal asphyxia is the most common cause of ARF in our series, and it carries poor prognosis. However, drug induced ARF has relatively good prognosis. The overall prognosis of ARF in the newborn was rather poor, the cumulative mortality, without dialysis, being of ARF in the newborn was rather poor, the cumulative mortality, without dialysis, being 45% in this study.