Sniffing out acute kidney injury in the ICU

Abstract

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the most common complications of critical illnesses, and early detection of AKI can improve its outcome. Using advanced electronic surveillance tools has attracted attention in recent years. It is not a secret that information overload in clinical practice, particularly those that are admitted to ICUs, can decrease the ability of practitioners to identify changes in patients' status in a timely manner. On the contrary, knowing the impact of an early and accurate diagnosis of syndromes, such as AKI, on patients' outcomes makes the use of electronic syndromic surveillance (ESS) tools a mandate. In recent years, a number of such tools for early detection of AKI have been developed with variable sensitivity and specificity. Although the impact of using these tools on patients' outcomes is unclear, the time to the appropriate processes required for the care of AKI has been successfully shortened by the use of these devices. ESS tools (sniffers) for AKI may allow improvement in patient processes of care or more efficient patient recruitment in AKI-related ICU studies.