Acute kidney injury in patients with chronic liver disease

Abstract

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent clinical event in patients with liver disease, compounding their prognosis. Furthermore, it is likely that the occurrence of AKI has a detrimental impact on the subsequent renal function and the long-term survival of these patients. Recently, some authors advocated the use of new diagnostic criteria for detecting acute kidney injury in patients with cirrhosis. These criteria are based on the rapidity and extent of the creatinine increase comparing to the basal creatinine and also on the kinetics of diuresis decrease. Although their validity in this population requires further studies to be clearly established, these new criteria could have two advantages: (1) to allow earlier diagnosis of AKI and, thus, hepatorenal syndrome for which earlier intervention could improve patients’ survival; and (2) to promote more intensive monitoring of renal function in these patients with high risk of AKI. Finally, recent practice guidelines about the prevention and treatment of general AKI have been published which should be useful in optimising the management of AKI in cirrhotic patients.

Keywords: Acute kidney injury; Cirrhosis; Hepatorenal syndrome; Serum creatinine; RIFLE/AKIN classification

Core tip: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with detrimental effect on early survival in hospitalised cirrhotic patients. Due to several hemodynamic modifications, both at the systemic and renal level, induced by cirrhosis, these patients are at increased risk to present acute kidney injury. Recently, new diagnostic criteria have been developed to insure early detection and allow severity assessment of AKI and to optimize the patient’s treatment. The studies available so far, showed that these criteria could have a clinical interest in the management of renal dysfunction but additional data are needed to ascertain their clinical benefit.