THE IMPORTANCE OF PROTEINURIA AND ITS RELATIONS AMONG PATIENTS WITH ACUTE RENAL FAILURE

Aim: To determine the importance of proteinuria and its relationships in patients with acute renal failure. Method: This study is a prospective observational study conducted over a six-months duration from January 2020 to June 2020 in the Nephrology department of PIMS Hospital Islamabad. The study included a total of n = 40 patients who presented to our department with acute renal failure or acute chronic renal failure. Proteinuria was analyzed by gel electrophoresis in patients and its predictive value was reported for the need for renal replacement therapy. Results: A total of n = 40 patients with a mean age of 58.6 ± 27 years and a male to female ratio of 24:16 were included in the study. Patient mortality was 15 (37.5%), the surviving population was critically ill at referral with an APACHE II score of 29 +/- 5, also had a lower baseline creatinine and a higher tubular-to-glomerular ratio, as indicated by for acute tubular necrosis. Among those who had survived 25(62.5%) a total of 7(17.5%) patients were those who did not recover and 19(47.5%) were those who recovered and returned towards normal renal functioning. Those who did not recover had elevated levels of tubular proteinuria and progressed to end-stage renal disease. Conclusion: According to our research, gel electrophoresis analysis for proteinuria is a cost effective and reliable method of determining tubular or glomerular proteinuria in patients with acute renal failure requiring renal replacement therapy in the intensive care unit. The presence of tubular proteinuria correlates with the duration of dialysis treatment and mortality, and the presence of glomerular proteinuria indicates glomerular damage and its severity. Key words: Acute renal injury, dialysis, proteinuria, tubular proteinuria, glomerular proteinuria