title: Acute kidney injury: a relevant complication after cardiac surgery.
abstract: Acute kidney injury (AKI) occurs in as many as 40% of patients after cardiac surgery and requires dialysis in 1% of cases. Acute kidney injury is associated with an increased risk of mortality and morbidity, predisposes patients to a longer hospitalization, requires additional treatments, and increases the hospital costs. Acute kidney injury is characterized by a progressive worsening course, being the consequence of an interplay of different pathophysiologic mechanisms, with patient-related factors and cardiopulmonary bypass as major causes. Recently, several novel biomarkers have emerged, showing reasonable sensitivity and specificity for AKI prediction and protection. The development and implementation of potentially protective therapies for AKI remains essential, especially for the relevant impact of AKI on early and late survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy. giovannimariscalco@yahoo.it
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mariscalco
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lorusso
authors.forename: Carmelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dominici
authors.forename: Attilio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Renzulli
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sala
mesh_terms: D058186:Acute Kidney Injury / Q000209:etiology*; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D011183:Postoperative Complications