Immediate Consequences of Acute Kidney Injury: The Impact of Traditional and Nontraditional Complications on Mortality in Acute Kidney Injury

Acute kidney injury (AKI) that requires renal replacement therapy is associated with a mortality rate that exceeds 50% in the intensive care unit, which is greater than other serious illnesses such as acute lung injury and myocardial infarction. Much information is now available regarding the complications of AKI that contribute to mortality and may be usefully categorized as “traditional” and “nontraditional”. Traditional complications are the long-recognized complications of AKI such as hyperkalemia, acidosis, and volume overload, which may be typically corrected with renal replacement therapy. “Nontraditional” complications include complications such as sepsis, lung injury, and heart failure that may arise due to the effects of AKI on inflammatory cytokines, immune function, and cell death pathways such as apoptosis. In this review, we discuss both traditional and nontraditional complications of AKI with a focus on factors that contribute to mortality, considering both pathophysiology and potential remedies. Because AKI is the most common inpatient consult to nephrologists, it is essential to be aware of the complications of AKI that contribute to mortality to devise appropriate treatment strategies to prevent and manage AKI complications with the ultimate goal of reducing the unacceptably high mortality rate of AKI.