ICU learning pathway | Diagnosis and investigation of AKI

Diagnosis and Investigation of AKI
Session Overview
Description
This session focuses on the definition or classification of AKI, its pathophysiology and most relevant risk factors and its causes.

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Define acute kidney injury
• Explain why acute kidney injury is relevant to critical care physicians and anaesthetists
• Describe the causes of acute kidney injury that are most relevant in the critically ill patient
• Summarize the risk factors for acute kidney injury
• Describe the pathophysiology of acute kidney injury

The importance of acute kidney injury (AKI) in the critically-ill or postoperative patients cannot be overemphasized.

It is essential that physicians working in theatre or in the ICU have a good, basic knowledge of AKI, its aetiology, the course of the illness and its management.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that AKI and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are interlinked, each potentially leading to the other. Even small increases in creatinine may be associated with worse short-term and long-term outcomes.

This session focuses on the diagnosis and investigation of AKI.