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Patient handout

Acute Kidney Injury (KDIGO)

PRODUCTION

1. Your condition

This handout is for acute kidney injury (kdigo). Your care team identified this based on: creatinine rise ≥0.3 in 48h or ≥1.5x baseline in 7d (kdigo 2012).

Other reasons your team may use this plan: oliguria <0.5 ml/kg/h ≥6h (kdigo 2012); anuria / decreased urine output (kdigo 2012); hyperkalemia or metabolic acidosis on routine bmp (kdigo 2012 aeiou).

2. Your medications

Take these medications exactly as prescribed. Do not stop or change a dose without talking to your provider.

MedicationStarting doseHowWhenWhat it does
lactated_ringers10-20 mL/kg bolusIVtitrate to MAP >65 + UOP >0.5 mL/kg/hKDIGO 2026 + SMART/PLUS — balanced crystalloid preferred over saline to avoid hyperchloremic acidosis
sodium_chloride_0.9%10-20 mL/kg bolusIVtitrateAcceptable when balanced crystalloid unavailable

Plan: AKI phenotype-driven management (KDIGO 2012/2026)

4. When to seek emergency care

Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room right away if you have:

  • pH <7.1 OR HCO3 <10 not responsive to bicarbonate infusion (KDIGO 2012)(life-threatening)
  • K >6.5 OR ECG changes despite shift therapy + binder (KDIGO 2012)(life-threatening)
  • Lithium / salicylate / methanol / ethylene glycol / metformin lactic acidosis with severe AKI (KDIGO 2012; EXTRIP)(life-threatening)
  • Pulmonary edema not responsive to high-dose IV loop diuretic (KDIGO 2012)
  • Uremic encephalopathy / pericarditis / bleeding diathesis with BUN >100 (KDIGO 2012)
  • RBC casts + dysmorphic RBCs + falling eGFR + proteinuria (KDIGO 2012)
  • Cirrhosis + AKI not responsive to 48h albumin challenge + no shock/nephrotoxin (AASLD 2023)

5. Follow-up

Recheck Cr 1 week post-discharge; nephrology outpatient; 3-month reassessment for CKD progression; med-rec post-AKI

6. Sources

Guideline: KDIGO 2026 AKI/AKD Draft (public review through April 2026; https://kdigo.org/guidelines/acute-kidney-injury/) + KDIGO 2012 AKI Guideline (binding) + SSC 2026 (initial resuscitation) + AASLD 2023 ACLF (HRS-AKI) + CONFIRM NEJM 2021 (terlipressin) + DOSE NEJM 2011 (loop diuretic dosing) + SMART/PLUS (balanced crystalloid) + STARRT-AKI / AKIKI (early vs delayed RRT)

  1. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22890468
  2. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30304656
  3. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33657294