AKI is defined as any of the following:
- Increase in Serum Creatinine (SCr) by >0.3 mg/dl (> 26.5 umol/l) within 48 hours
- Increase in SCr to >1.5 times the patient’s baseline level, which is known or presumed to have occurred within the prior 7 days
- Urine volume < 0.5 ml/kg/h for 6 hours
Key Points:
- A decrease in SCr 0.3 mg/dl should not be used to diagnose AKI
- A decrease can be evaluated by the patient’s SCr divided by 1.5 to determine the decrease necessary to meet criteria.
- Acute Renal Failure or Acute Kidney Injury are the preferred terms when a patient meets criteria for AKI.
- Acute Renal Insufficiency does not adequately capture the patient’s severity of illness.
- Baseline SCr can be estimated using the MDRD Study equation assuming a baseline eGFR of 75/ml/min[i].
