Renal failure is common in patients with glomerular disease. Although renal failure may result from the glomerular lesion itself, it is also observed in patients with minimal glomerular alterations. Degenerative changes and necrosis of the tubular epithelium are common findings in kidney biopsies from these patients. The aim of this work is to examine the association between acute tubular necrosis (ATN) and renal failure in patients with glomerulopathy and to estimate the relationship between the degree of ATN and renal failure in these patients. Data on age, sex, presence of nephrotic syndrome, and renal failure were recorded for 149 patients, who underwent a renal biopsy for the diagnosis of glomerulopathy. The biopsies were reviewed, and ATN, when present, was classified as one of four grades depending on its intensity. The mean age of the patients was 21 ± 16 years. Eighty patients (54%) were male, 43 (42%) had renal failure, 104 (72%) had nephrotic syndrome, and 66 (45%) had minimal change disease or focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. ATN was present in 115 (77%) patients. The frequency of renal failure was directly correlated with the intensity of ATN [odds ratio (OR) of 26.0 for patients with grade 2 lesions and OR of 45.5 for patients with grade 3 lesions]. ATN is a common finding in the biopsies of patients with glomerulopathy. The severity of ATN is directly associated with the frequency of renal failure in these patients.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in critically ill patients. Diuretics are used without any evidence demonstrating a beneficial effect on renal function. The objective of the present study is to determine the incidence of AKI in an intensive care unit (ICU) and if there is an association between the use of furosemide and the development of AKI. The study involved a hospital cohort in which 344 patients were consecutively enrolled from January 2010 to January 2011. A total of 132 patients (75 females and 57 males, average age 64 years) remained for analysis. Most exclusions were related to ICU discharge in the first 24 h. Laboratory, sociodemographic and clinical data were collected until the development of AKI, medical discharge or patient death. The incidence of AKI was 55% (95%CI = 46-64). The predictors of AKI found by univariate analysis were septic shock: OR = 3.12, 95%CI = 1.36-7.14; use of furosemide: OR = 3.27, 95%CI = 1.57-6.80, and age: OR = 1.02, 95%CI = 1.00-1.04. Analysis of the subgroup of patients with septic shock showed that the odds ratio of furosemide was 5.5 (95%CI = 1.16-26.02) for development of AKI. Age, use of furosemide, and septic shock were predictors of AKI in critically ill patients. Use of furosemide in the subgroup of patients with sepsis/septic shock increased (68.4%) the chance of development of AKI when compared to the sample as a whole (43.9%)