New biomarkers of acute kidney injury

Abstract

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in intensive care units. The mortality rate for hospitalized patients who develop AKI is approximately five times higher than without AKI. Despite the introduction of new therapies, the mortality associated with this pathology has improved little over the last years. The routinely available clinical parameters of kidney disease (plasma creatinine and urea) do not provide in practice either a sensitive or specific indication of renal function, and show AKI well after the injury has occurred.