Prevention of acute kidney injury in the intensive care unit

SummaryAcute Kidney injury (AKI) is a relatively common condition in the intensive care unit and is associated with an increase in mortality. Whilst it can be treated by the use of renal replacement therapies an independent increase in mortality still exists. It is therefore seems intuitive that the prevention of AKI should be associated with a reduction in both mortality and morbidity and an improvement in patient care for this reason there has been many attempts to develop strategies to reduce the incidence of AKI. These strategies involve the use of therapeutic agents to prevent renal failure, the avoidance of nephrotoxic agents and the maintenance of normal hydration and renal perfusion. More recently there has been focus on the early recognition of patients at risk of developing AKI and focussing care to avoid exacerbation of risk factors.