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Abstract Details
Clinical and pathophysiological understanding of the hepatorenal syndrome: Still wrong or still not exactly right?
World J Clin Cases. 2023 Feb 26;11(6):1261-1266. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i6.1261.
1Department of Nephrology, University of Duisburg-Essen, University Hospital Essen, Essen 45147, Germany.
2Department of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum 44892, Germany.
3Department of Medicine, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum 44892, Germany. antonios.katsounas@kk-bochum.de.
Abstract
The hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is one major extrahepatic complication of end-stage liver diseases. While circulatory dysregulation is considered as primary etiology for HRS, cirrhosis-related (systemic) inflammation and/or cardial dysfunction may also play a key pathogenic role in HRS development. Exclusion of other causes of acute kidney injury (AKI) is required for diagnosis of HRS-AKI by the definition of the International Club of Ascites. However, the pathophysiology of HRS is not understood completely and there are still limited therapeutic options. Reversibility of renal dysfunction after liver transplantation indicates that HRS-AKI is a functional disorder caused by altered cellular function. The interplay between systemic inflammation and the onset of kidney-related hypometabolism may have a key role and needs to be studied in depth. This minireview challenges simplified views of the HRS in the context of diagnostics and therapy stressing the need for further evidence to advance the knowledge on this syndrome.