Chronic renal failure: An autopsy study

Abstract

Diabetes and hypertension are at present the major causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) worldwide. The stages 0-5 of CKD are defined according to the estimated glomerular filtration rate. The term chronic renal failure (CRF) typically corresponds to CKD stages 3-5. Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of morbidity and mortality in patients of CRF and ESRD. This study was undertaken to analyze the age and sex incidence, clinical features, etiology, pathology of various organs in detail, and causes of death of CRF patients. All autopsies performed on known cases of CRF and those who were diagnosed as CRF at autopsy at a tertiary care hospital in India over a 7-year period were studied. The highest number of cases of CRF fell within the 56-65 years age group with a male/female ratio of 1.38:1. Oliguria and anasarca were the most common presenting features. Chronic pyelonephritis was the most common cause of CRF in our study, followed by hypertension, diabetes, and chronic glomerulonephritis. Other causes included amyloidosis, autosomal poly- cystic kidney disease, and ischemic and multiple myeloma. Most common cause of death found was cardiovascular, followed by infections, cerebrovascular, metabolic, and other causes.