title: Assessing and documenting fluid balance.
abstract: Concerns about inadequate patient hydration and suboptimal monitoring of fluid balance have been documented in recent reports. The Fluid Balance Improvement Project at Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was undertaken to identify risk factors influencing hydration and to implement a revised process to manage these risks, resulting in the development of a hydration pathway. This new approach to monitoring patient hydration, together with staff education and support, has resulted in improved compliance with fluid balance monitoring standards, as well as significant improvements in identifying patients at risk of dehydration, and an increase in patients with acute kidney injury commencing appropriate fluid balance monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, England.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pinnington
authors.affiliation: Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, England.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ingleby
authors.affiliation: Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, England.
authors.forename: Prasanna
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hanumapura
authors.affiliation: Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, England.
authors.forename: Deryn
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Waring
mesh_terms: D003681:Dehydration / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005440:Fluid Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D013222:State Medicine; D006113:United Kingdom; D014882:Water-Electrolyte Balance
keywords: acute kidney injury; fluid balance; fluid balance assessment; hydration; hydration assessment; renal care; service improvement