The International journal of artificial organs
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To describe current knowledge on the epidemiology of cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI) and to formulate recommendations for clinical practice and a research agenda. ⋯ Existing data on the epidemiology of CSA-AKI are difficult to compare due to variations in definition and patient cohort. A modified Delphi analysis resulted in a series of recommendations for future research on CSA-AKI.
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Volume management is an integral component of the care of patients with acute kidney injury (AKI). Considerable controversy exists regarding the use of pharmacological agents for volume management. Although overt fluid overload is often seen in AKI and may prompt attention for the use of diuretics, often these agents are used in the absence of fluid retention. ⋯ We reviewed the literature on this topic and addressed four key questions for the appropriate utilization of these agents. These include the drug targets and mechanism of action of available agents; clinical goals and criteria for timing of intervention; adaptation of therapy for specific clinical settings and measures required for monitoring effectiveness and patient safety. This report details our current knowledge in this area, provides evidence-based clinical practice recommendations where appropriate, and formulates a research agenda to address unanswered questions.
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The Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative (ADQI) is an ongoing process that seeks to produce evidence-based recommendations for the prevention and management of acute kidney injury (AKI) and on different issues concerning acute dialysis. Our methods involve a combination of both expert panel and evidence appraisal, and this approach was chosen to achieve the best of both options. This approach has led to important practice guidelines with wide acceptance and adoption into clinical practice. We further recognize that additional research will be needed and have proposed specific studies that will help move this field forward.