Acute kidney injury

Causes

Who's at risk of acute kidney injury?

You're more likely to get AKI if:

You're aged 65 or over
You already have a kidney problem , such as chronic kidney disease
You have a long-term disease, such as heart failure, liver disease or diabetes
You're dehydrated or unable to maintain your fluid intake independently
You have a blockage in your urinary tract (or are at risk of this)
You have a severe infection or sepsis
You're taking certain medicines, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS, such as ibuprofen) or blood pressure drugs, such as ACE inhibitors or diuretics; diuretics are usually beneficial to the kidneys, but may become less helpful when a person is dehydrated or suffering from a severe illness
You're given aminoglycosides a type of antibiotic; again, this is only an issue if the person is dehydrated or ill, and these are usually only given in a hospital setting

AKI is estimated to affect 13-18% of people admitted to hospital. It can affect both adults and children.

Causes of acute kidney injury

Most cases of AKI are caused by reduced blood flow to the kidneys, usually in someone who is already unwell with another health condition.

This reduced blood flow could be caused by:

low blood volume after bleeding, excessive vomiting or diarrhoea, or as seen with severe dehydration
the heart pumping out less blood than normal as a result of heart failure, liver failure or sepsis, for example:

problems with the blood vessels such as inflammation and blockage in the blood vessels within the kidneys (a rare condition called vasculitis)

certain medicines (see above), which can affect the blood supply to the kidney other medicines may cause unusual reactions in the kidney itself

AKI can also be caused by a problem with the kidney itself, such as glomerulonephritis. This may be caused by a reaction to some drugs, infections or contrast medium (the liquid dye used in some types of X-rays).

It may also be due to a blockage affecting the drainage of the kidneys, such as:

an enlarged prostate
a tumour in the pelvis such as an ovarian or bladder tumour
kidney stones

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 30 Nov 2016

Articles for acute kidney injury

Symptoms

In the early stages of AKI, there may not be any symptoms.The only possible warning sign may be that the person isn't producing much urine, although this isn't always the case.

Causes

Most cases of AKI are caused by reduced blood flow to the kidneys, usually in someone who is already unwell with another health condition.

Diagnosis

AKI can be diagnosed after measuring urine output and doing blood tests. Blood levels of creatinine a chemical waste product produced by the muscles will be measured. Healthy kidneys filter creatinine and other waste products from the blood and these are excreted, in the form of urine.

Treatment

Treatment of AKI depends on the underlying cause and extent of illness. In most cases, treating the underlying problem will cure the AKI. GPs may be able to manage mild cases in people who aren't already in hospital.

Prevention

Those at risk of AKI should be monitored with regular blood tests if they become unwell or start new medication. It's also useful to check how much urine you're passing.

Complications

Complications of an acute kidney injury need to be dealt with immediately in a hospital setting under rigorous medical supervision. Some of the complications are high levels of potassium in the blood, fluid in the lungs, etc.

Introduction

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is sudden damage to the kidneys that causes them to not work properly. It can range from minor loss of kidney function to complete kidney failure.

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