Long-term outcomes of acute kidney injury connecting acute harm to chronic kidney disease

Abstract

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is the new term for acute renal failure. It occurs when the kidney rapidly loses its excretory function within 48 hours. The mainstay of the diagnosis of this condition is biochemical, with the accumulation of nitrogen metabolism end products. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the recognised long-term complications of AKI, defined as a ‘permanent abnormality in the structure of the kidney or function for more than 90 days. The functional abnormality can be in the form of a decrease in the glomerular filtration rate of less than 60mL/min/1.73m2 or an increase in albumin level in the urine ≥30mg/24hrs’. When treating a patient with AKI, the main objective is to minimise the risk of CKD development and other major adverse effects. To achieve this, firstly, our goal is to restore renal perfusion as early as possible, thus reducing acute tubular necrosis development.