Nonoliguric Acute Renal Failure

To delineate the clinical spectrum of nonoliguric renal failure, we studied prospectively 92 patients with acute renal failure, 54 of whom were nonoliguric throughout their periods of azotemia. Although the causes of nonoliguric renal failure varied, nephrotoxic failure occurred more frequently in nonoliguric than in oliguric subjects (P<0.01). As compared to oliguric patients, those without oliguria had significantly lower urinary sodium concentrations (P<0.05) and fractional excretions of sodium (P<0.02), had a shorter hospital stay (P<0.01), had fewer septic episodes, neurologic abnormalities, gastrointestinal bleeding and acidemia, required dialysis less frequently (P<0.001) and had a lower mortality rate (26 per cent in nonoliguric vs. 50 per cent in oliguric patients — P<0.05). Nonoliguric renal failure occurs more often than is generally recognized and causes less morbidity and mortality than oliguric acute renal failure. (N Engl J Med 296:1134–1138, 1977