Australian and New Zealand journal of medicine
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Acute renal failure (ARF) is a recognised complication following cardiac surgery, but the incidence varies widely in the published literature and there are no Australian data available to help predict the risks of ARF in patients with pre-existing renal disease. ⋯ These data confirm that ARF following cardiac surgery is uncommon without pre-operative impairment of renal function but currently carries a mortality rate of 13%. Impaired renal function alone is associated with higher mortality and prolonged hospital stay. Studies to prevent ARF in this setting should focus on the high risk subsets described in this study.