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Medical Author:

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP

John P. Cunha, DO, is a U.S. board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician. Dr. Cunha's educational background includes a BS in Biology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and a DO from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in Kansas City, MO. He completed residency training in Emergency Medicine at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Prerenal failure is the most common type of acute renal failure (60% to 70% of all cases). The kidneys do not receive enough blood to filter. Prerenal failure can be caused by the following conditions:

• Dehydration: From vomiting, diarrhea, water pills, or blood loss
• Disruption of blood flow to the kidneys from a variety of causes:
  • Drastic drop in blood pressure after surgery with blood loss, severe injury or burns, or infection in the bloodstream (sepsis) causing blood vessels to inappropriately relax
  • Blockage or narrowing of a blood vessel carrying blood to the kidneys
  • Heart failure or heart attacks causing low blood flow
  • Liver failure causing changes in hormones that affect blood flow and pressure to the kidney

There is no actual damage to the kidneys early in the process with prerenal failure. With appropriate treatment, the dysfunction usually can be reversed. Prolonged decrease in the blood flow to the kidneys, for whatever reason, can however cause permanent damage to the kidney tissues.

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