Renal Complications in Acute and Chronic Liver Disease

Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is common complication of acute and chronic liver disease. Hepatorenal syndrome is a severe consequence of advanced cirrhosis and occurs due to intense renal vasoconstriction causing a reduction in renal perfusion and glomerular filtration. The evaluation of renal dysfunction in cirrhosis is challenging because of the poor correlation of commonly used indices of kidney function to glomerular filtration rate. Novel biomarkers hold promise for the early diagnosis and prognosis of acute kidney injury in cirrhosis but are yet in clinical use. Therapies for acute kidney injury include vasoconstrictors, albumin and liver transplantation. Renal replacement therapy should be used as a bridge to liver transplant.