Description
Acute kidney injury (AKI) describes a sudden decrease in the glomerular filtration rate and is clinically diagnosed by an increase in serum creatinine and/or a decrease in urine output. An increase in serum creatinine of either = 0.3 mg/dL within 48 hours or an increase = 1.5 times baseline that is known or presumed to have occurred within the prior 7 days meets the definition of AKI according to the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) classification system (Kellum et al. 2012). A decrease in urine output < 0.5 mL/kg/hour for 6 hours also meets the KDIGO definition of AKI. AKI occurs in up to 20% of hospitalized patients in high income countries and its development heralds an increased risk of mortality that worsens as the stage of AKI becomes greater (Khadzhynov et al. 2019). Survivors of AKI continue to face an increased risk of mortality and morbidity even after discharge. Studies show that in the 90 days after discharge, patients who survived an AKI episode face a significantly increased risk of death compared to those patients who had not suffered AKI (Bianchi et al. 2021).
