RECOVER-AKI
One in five patients admitted to hospital suffer a sudden reduction in kidney function, termed acute kidney injury (AKI). Rather than kidney ‘injury’ being caused by physical trauma, the term describes reversible damage caused by conditions such as being dehydrated or having an infection. Having AKI puts patients at an increased risk of long-term health problems, especially chronic kidney disease (CKD). CKD can also lead to other important health problems including a higher risk of heart disease and stroke. If we can reduce the progression of AKI to CKD this will benefit patients.
Currently, there is a gap in the follow-up of patients after AKI due to a lack of evidence about which patients should be followed up and when. Treatments for AKI during the episode and afterwards to prevent CKD are limited. This is mainly due to a lack of understanding about how and when the kidney recovers after AKI. RECOVER-AKI aims to address these gaps in our knowledge by studying a group of AKI patients in detail.
10 patients with AKI will be recruited in hospital at the time of AKI and undergo multiparametric renal MRI scans at day 30 and 90 after AKI. This will allow comparison over time of multiple patients recovering from AKI, some who will recover kidney function and others who won’t. Results will be compared to healthy volunteers and chronic kidney disease and form the basis upon which larger studies can be developed.