Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common condition that involves sudden, catastrophic loss of kidney function. It is estimated that AKI is associated with one in five emergency hospital admissions and causes up to 1.7 million deaths globally per year. If AKI is not treated promptly, patients have an increased risk of death, owing to changes in their serum biochemistry that affect other organs.
Recognising AKI is important because, when treated promptly, it is reversible and patients’ chances of survival are high. This toolkit collates the information needed to help doctors recognise patients with AKI as well as those at risk, and to optimise their treatment. It includes:
- causes of AKI
- ways to identify patients at risk
- diagnosis and management of AKI
- guidance on intravenous fluid therapy.
An RCP educational slideset containing the key learning points from the toolkit is also available to download.
Dr Mike Jones explains the importance of the toolkit in the video below.