Use of 2-hourly creatinine clearance to inform cessation of renal replacement therapy

Excerpt

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common problem in critically ill patients, with a reported incidence of 1 to 25% and a poor prognosis. Although optimal dosing of renal replacement therapy (RRT) is relatively well understood, appropriate timing of commencing and ceasing RRT in patients with AKI has been under debate for a long time. From the viewpoint of an early renal support strategy, the goal of early RRT is to maintain solute clearance and fluid balance to prevent subsequent multiorgan damage, while waiting for the recovery of renal function. It has previously been noted that 2-hourly creatinine clearance accurately reflects the more cumbersome 24-hour value [1]. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether routine measurement of creatinine clearance (CrCl) could help to predict when to cease dialysis, and determine what value for CrCl best predicted remaining dialysis-free in critically ill patients receiving CRRT. …