Septic unsafe abortion may have a number of serious complications, including acute kidney injury (AKI) and renal failure. Fortunately, the prevalence of unsafe abortions has declined from past levels.
Patient selection: woman with sepsis after unsafe abortion
The onset of AKI was 1 to 14 days after the abortion.
Duration of AKI had a mean of 7.4 days +/- 5, with recovery taking up to 6 weeks.
Risk factors for AKI:
(1) severity of sepsis, especially septic shock
(2) delay in appropriate management
(3) pre-existing renal disease
Management may involve:
(1) dialysis
(2) hysterectomy (if there are signs of uterine wall perforation with peritonitis or if there is uncontrollable bleeding)
(3) antibiotic therapy for the causative organism(s)
Complications:
(1) infertility (if hysterectomy performed)
(2) infective endocarditis
(3) pyelonephritis
(4) disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)
