A Randomized Controlled Trial of Reduced Glutathione in the Treatment of Acute Renal Failure

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of reduced glutathione in the treatment of acute renal failure.Methods Twenty-three patients with acute renal failure were divided into the treatment group (n=10) and the control group (n=13) by a simple random method.Patients in the treatment group received intravenous reduced glutathione 1 200 mg daily,whereas patients in the control group were not treated with reduced glutathione.The therapeutic course for the two groups was 4 weeks.Serum creatinine and urea nitrogen were determined before treatment as well as at the end of Week 1,2,3 and 4.Proximal and distal renal tubular functions were evaluated at the end of the treatment.The time when clinical symptoms were improved was recorded and adverse drug reactions were monitored.Results The durations of nausea and vomiting as well as the oliguria stage in the treatment group were obviously shorter than those of the control group. The serum creatinine level in the treatment group decreased more markedly than that of the control group.At the end of the treatment,the renal tubular function in the treatment group was better than that of the control group.Conclusion Reduced glutathione in the treatment of acute renal failure contributes to the early recovery of renal function.However,more high- quality and large-scale randomized controlled trials are needed.