Acute renal failure itself has few symptoms until severe uremia develops:
Nausea/vomiting, drowsiness, fatigue, confusion, coma, pericarditis
Patients more likely to present with symptoms related to underlying cause:
Prerenal
Thirst, orthostatic lightheadedness, decreasing urine output
Intrinsic
Flank pain, hematuria
Nephrolithiasis
Papillary necrosis
Crystal-induced nephropathy
Myalgias, seizures, recreational intoxication
Pigment-induced ARF (rhabdomyolysis)
Darkening urine and edema (esp with preceding pharyngitis or cutaneous infection)
Acute glomerulonephritis
Fever, arthralgia, rash
Acute interstitial nephritis
Cough, dyspnea, hemoptysis
Goodpasture syndrome, granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's)
Postrenal
Alternating oliguria and polyuria is pathognomonic of obstruction
Anuria
Nausea/vomiting, drowsiness, fatigue, confusion, coma, pericarditis
Prerenal
Thirst, orthostatic lightheadedness, decreasing urine output
Intrinsic
Flank pain, hematuria
Nephrolithiasis
Papillary necrosis
Crystal-induced nephropathy
Myalgias, seizures, recreational intoxication
Pigment-induced ARF (rhabdomyolysis)
Darkening urine and edema (esp with preceding pharyngitis or cutaneous infection)
Acute glomerulonephritis
Fever, arthralgia, rash
Acute interstitial nephritis
Cough, dyspnea, hemoptysis
Goodpasture syndrome, granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's)
Postrenal
Alternating oliguria and polyuria is pathognomonic of obstruction
Anuria
Thirst, orthostatic lightheadedness, decreasing urine output
Flank pain, hematuria
Nephrolithiasis
Papillary necrosis
Crystal-induced nephropathy
Myalgias, seizures, recreational intoxication
Pigment-induced ARF (rhabdomyolysis)
Darkening urine and edema (esp with preceding pharyngitis or cutaneous infection)
Acute glomerulonephritis
Fever, arthralgia, rash
Acute interstitial nephritis
Cough, dyspnea, hemoptysis
Goodpasture syndrome, granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's)
Nephrolithiasis
Papillary necrosis
Crystal-induced nephropathy
Pigment-induced ARF (rhabdomyolysis)
Acute glomerulonephritis
Acute interstitial nephritis
Goodpasture syndrome, granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's)
Alternating oliguria and polyuria is pathognomonic of obstruction
Anuria
Acute kidney injury
Acute hepatic failure
Acute urinary retention
Tumor lysis syndrome
Hepatorenal syndrome
Adrenal crisis
Renal infarction
Diabetes insipidus