Uncertainty exists regarding the optimal timing of initiation of renal replacement therapy in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury in the absence of urgent or life-threatening complications. Two high-profile trials — AKIKI and ELAIN — that aimed to address this issue have recently reported conflicting findings.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
Matrix metalloproteinase-10 protects against acute kidney injury by augmenting epidermal growth factor receptor signaling
Cell Death & Disease Open Access 12 January 2021
-
Optimal timing of renal replacement therapy initiation in acute kidney injury: the elephant felt by the blindmen?
Critical Care Open Access 20 June 2017
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Kellum, J. A. et al. Development of a clinical research agenda for acute kidney injury using an international, interdisciplinary, three-step modified Delphi process. Clin. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 3, 887–894 (2008).
Karvellas, C. J. et al. A comparison of early versus late initiation of renal replacement therapy in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Crit. Care 15, R72 (2011).
Bouman, C. S., Oudemans-Van Straaten, H. M., Tijssen, J. G., Zandstra, D. F. & Kesecioglu, J. Effects of early high-volume continuous venovenous hemofiltration on survival and recovery of renal function in intensive care patients with acute renal failure: a prospective, randomized trial. Crit. Care Med. 30, 2205–2211 (2002).
Jamale, T. E. et al. Earlier-start versus usual-start dialysis in patients with community-acquired acute kidney injury: a randomized controlled trial. Am. J. Kidney Dis. 62, 1116–1121 (2013).
Wald, R. et al. Comparison of standard and accelerated initiation of renal replacement therapy in acute kidney injury. Kidney Int. 88, 897–904 (2015).
Gaudry, S. et al. Initiation strategies for renal-replacement therapy in the intensive care unit. N. Engl. J. Med. http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1603017 (2016).
Zarbock, A. et al. Effect of early versus delayed initiation of renal replacement therapy on mortality in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury: the ELAIN Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA 315, 2190–2199 (2016).
Deans, K. J. et al. Randomization in clinical trials of titrated therapies: unintended consequences of using fixed treatment protocols. Crit. Care Med. 35, 1509–1516 (2007).
Ridgeon, E. E. et al. The fragility index in multicenter randomized controlled critical care trials. Crit. Care Med. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/CCM.0000000000001670 (2016).
Chertow, G. M. & Winkelmayer, W. C. Early to dialyze: healthy and wise? JAMA 315, 2171–2172 (2016).
Acknowledgements
S.M.B holds a Canada Research Chair in Critical Care Nephrology. The work of S.M.B and R.W. has been funded by operating grants provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the University Hospital Foundation (University of Alberta Hospital).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
S.M.B and R.W. are co-principal investigators of the Standard versus Accelerated initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy in Acute Kidney Injury (STARRT-AKI) trial, an international multicentre randomized clinical trial comparing pre-emptive renal replacement therapy initiation versus a strategy of watchful waiting in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02568722). The work of S.M.B and R.W. is supported by an unrestricted research grant from Baxter.
PowerPoint slides
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bagshaw, S., Wald, R. Timing of renal replacement therapy in AKI. Nat Rev Nephrol 12, 445–446 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneph.2016.92
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneph.2016.92