AKI bundles and measuring AKI outcomes…. What should we be focusing on?

At my hospital I have been collecting inpatient mortality data for non-elective admissions, for over two years now and I’m able to compare mortality rates for patients with and without AKI.  I suspect a similar aim of the UK Renal Registry and Think Kidney’s AKI programme is to provide similar data for hospitals and regions.  One aspect that I have found interesting is that in the…

Read More

Reflections on World Kidney Day 2018 – a personal perspective

Becky Bonfield is the acute kidney injury lead advanced nurse practitioner at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. Here she writes about being part of the team who ran a World Kidney day study event this year. World Kidney Day is a global awareness campaign aimed at raising awareness of the importance of kidneys, and the 2018 theme was women’s health and kidneys as the date…

Read More

Putting data into action

By Ron Cullen, Chief Executive, Renal Association The UK Renal Registry’s mission statement, “Putting Data into Action” aims to improve patient care by national audit and supporting research, innovation and quality improvement (QI).  As the quality of the Registry’s data has improved, so has the desire to make a positive difference to kidney patients with the data we collect, and to ensure “quality assurance and quality…

Read More

Dying for a drink…. but which IV fluid?

Summer is finally here!  24’C outside and the hospital radiators in my office are still on!  I’m hot, thirsty and so are my patients on the ward.  In the news, unbelievably there are still recurring headlines of patients dying from thirst in UK hospitals and care homes.1 Why is it so hard to ensure patients are getting enough to drink?  Why is this still happening? If…

Read More

First do no harm…. What now for contrast-induced AKI prophylaxis?

It has been widely agreed for many years that iodine-based radiological contrast can cause AKI, particularly in those patients who are deemed high risk.  However, as newer research is published, the risk of developing AKI from contrast, may now not be as significant as first thought, with some authors even questioning its existence!  Part of the problem is that many studies in the past, attributed any…

Read More