Abstract:

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common clinical critical disorder. Its incidence is increasing gradually. There has been no uniform standard for the definition and diagnosis of AKI since ten years ago, making it difficult to compare the results from different studies. Since 2002, ADQI,AKIN and KDIGO guidelines have been published in succession for the evaluation and management of AKI, respectively. These guidelines have provided the definition and classification of AKI, which are appropriate for defining the epidemiology of AKI and for the design of clinical trials. At present, serum creatinine combined with urine output remains the cornerstone for diagnosing and classifying AKI.However, serum creatinine is not a sensitive index as it can't reflect the change of kidney function in time,and urine output is also susceptible to many factors such as use of diuretics and urinary tract obstruction.Neither of them is perfect as an index for both defining and classifying AKI. Therefore, finding early,sensitive and reliable biomarkers of kidney damage is the future direction of research. In this paper, we have reviewed evolution of the definition, diagnostic criteria, and recent research of AKI.

Key words: Acute kidney injury; Definition; Diagnosis; Classification