Acute kidney injury in Intensive Care Units: patient profile, management and complications

Abstract

Objective: To review the scientific literature on the outlook and profile of patients with acute renal injury (ARF) in the intensive care unit (ICU), its causes, consequences and management. Bibliographic review: ARF is an abrupt decline of the renal function. In the analyzed studies, most patients developed ARF after ICU admission. There was a predominance of males, over 60 years old and patients with comorbidities. The most prevalent were hypertension, diabetes mellitus, heart diseases and cancer. When evaluating the therapeutic management, the main measures were to avoid volume overload and the use of nephrotoxic antibiotics. However, in cases with severe complications, renal replacement therapy became one of the important strategies. Among the main complications are volume overload and electrolyte disturbances. Final considerations: Acute renal injury is a highly prevalent condition in the ICU. Thus, effective measures to identify the predictive factors and to determine the appropriate management directly influence in an early diagnosis and as a result, a better prognosis.