Post-partum acute renal failure: A case report

Background: Acute renal failure associated to renal cortical necrosis is a rare condition that can appear in pregnancy, during or after the delivery. It can be caused by various factors which must all be excluded in order to reach the correct diagnosis. Due to its low incidence in developed country, it presents a challenging diagnosis, cause management and treatment. Case report: Here we report a rare case of acute renal failure with renal cortical necrosis probably caused by post-partum hemorrhage. A 36-years-old primiparous woman, after a post-partum hemorrhage, presented low platelets count, anuria and increase serum creatinine level that necessitate daily dialysis and Continuous Veno-Venous Hemofiltration. After the discharge she presented persisting stage IV chronic renal insufficiency, currently being treated. After excluding all possible causes of pregnancy-related acute renal failure, the only reasonable explanation was renal cortical necrosis due to post-partum hemorrhage. Conclusion: Due to a loss of 3000 cc of blood, the patient suffered of a life threating disease. The acute renal failure is a serious condition that must be taken into consideration in case of post-partum bleeding and promptly.