Acute kidney injury (AKI, a sudden decline in renal function of at least 50% from baseline, or creatinine rise ≥26µmol/l)1 is common, affecting up to 20% of patients in hospital and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality
As it is a syndrome rather than a specific diagnosis, and is often multifactorial in its aetiology, there is currently no specific treatment for AKI and we depend upon recognition of risk factors, early recognition and prompt supportive care
We highlighted that care of the elderly, in keeping with national data, had a higher rate of AKI than other wards at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE, Table 1) and so chose to approach this ward to start our project there
We aimed to reduce the severity and duration of AKI in Care of the Elderly by 20% by June 2017
