The study looked at data from about 83,000 veterans with AKI. More than half of those patients needed dialysis at least temporarily, and many died prior to leaving the hospital. The Center for Health Quality, Outcomes and Economic Research study focused on veterans with AKI who did not require dialysis and who survived at least three months after leaving the hospital.

According to the data, 30 percent of the AKI patients died over the next two years. The researchers placed patients’ risk of death at about 40 percent higher for people with AKI compared to those without AKI. Patients with a severe form AKI were at an even higher risk for death.

Researchers say that the data was limited in that it did not include information on the serum creatinine test used to diagnose AKI, involved mostly men, did not include information on other causes of death, and did not take into account the long-term risk of chronic kidney disease which can lead to AKI. Researchers say the study’s results may help to inform further studies and improve patient care.

SOURCE: Fleet Attorney › Patients with acute kidney injury at greater risk for premature death

Kidney injury is a devastating disorder that often occurs as a complication of other serious illnesses and sometimes even treatments. For example, one form of kidney injury known as acute phosphate nephropathy, has been associated with the use of oral sodium phosphates (OSP), a type of laxative often given to patients to cleanse the bowel prior to colonoscopies. Incidents of the injury have skyrocketed in the past decade as more patients have regular colon screenings.

The new test will enable doctors to predict a patient’s outcome in a matter of hours as opposed to one to three days for existing methods of testing for kidney injury.

“The icing on the cake is that the NGAL test is designed to be used on apparatus that already exists in laboratories and hospitals. In this way we have secured that the test will be affordable and readily available to doctors worldwide,” says Thea Olesen, CEO of BioPorto.

The test will be presented this month at ASN Renal Week in San Diego, the yearly meeting point for kidney specialists from all over the world.

SOURCE: Fleet Attorney › New test can identify kidney injury earlier