Acute Kidney Injury

Acute renal failure definitions have changed dramatically over the last 5 to 10 years as a result of criteria established through the following consensus statements/organizations: RIFLE (Risk, Injury, Failure, Loss of function, End stage renal disease), AKIN (Acute Kidney Injury Network), and KDIGO (Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes). In 2002, the Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative was tasked with the goal of establishing a consensus statement for acute kidney injury (AKI). The first order of business was to provide a standard definition of AKI. Up to this point, literature comparison was challenging as studies lacked uniformity in renal injury definitions. Implementing results into evidence-based clinical practice was difficult. The panel coined the term “acute kidney injury,” encompassing previous terms, such as renal failure and acute tubular necrosis. This new terminology represented a broad range of renal insults, from dehydration to those requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT). This review provides an algorithmic approach to the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention, and management of AKI. Also discussed are special circumstances, including rhabdomyol