Editorial
Copyright ©2012 Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Crit Care Med. Apr 4, 2012; 1(2): 40-45
Published online Apr 4, 2012. doi: 10.5492/wjccm.v1.i2.40
Acute kidney injury classification: AKIN and RIFLE criteria in critical patients
Chan-Yu Lin, Yung-Chang Chen
Chan-Yu Lin, Yung-Chang Chen, Kidney Institute, Department of Nephrology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taipei 105, Taiwan, China
Author contributions: Lin CY and Chen YC contributed equally to this manuscript.
Correspondence to: Yung-Chang Chen, MD, Kidney Institute, Department of Nephrology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, 199 Tung Hwa North Road, Taipei 105, Taiwan, China. cyc2356@adm.cgmh.org.tw
Telephone: +886-3-3281200 Fax: +886-3-3282173
Received: June 10, 2011
Revised: October 16, 2011
Accepted: March 10, 2012
Published online: April 4, 2012
Abstract

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and serious complication in critically ill patients. The mortality rate remains high despite improved renal replacement techniques. A possible cause of the high mortality rate is that intensive care unit patients tend to be older and more debilitated than before. Pathophysiological factors associated with AKI are also implicated in the failure of other organs, indicating that AKI is often part of a multiple organ failure syndrome. Until recently, there was a lack of consensus as to the best definition, characterization, and evaluation of acute renal failure. This lack of a standard definition has been a major impediment to progress in clinical and basic research. The introduction of the risk, injury, failure, loss, and end-stage kidney disease criteria and the modified version proposed by the Acute Kidney Injury Network have increased the conceptual understanding of AKI syndrome, and these criteria have been successfully tested in clinical studies. This article reviews current findings concerning the application of these criteria for assessing epidemiology and predicting outcome in specific homogeneous critically ill patient groups.

Keywords: Acute kidney injury; Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; Cirrhosis; Sepsis; Acute respiratory distress syndrome; Intensive care unit