A recent research headed by UW Medicine and published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases reveals that new diagnostics may improve the status of hospital inpatients who acquire an acute kidney injury (AKI). AKI patients often do poorly after discharge and have few choices for effective therapy.

The study included 769 individuals with AKI and 769 without the disorder, and it followed them for five years after they were discharged from the hospital. They discovered two molecularly unique AKI subgroups, or sub-phenotypes, each with a distinctive risk profile and long-term prognosis.

One group of patients had a greater risk of congestive heart failure, while another had a higher prevalence of chronic renal disease and sepsis. Compared to the first group, patients in the second group had a 40% greater risk of serious adverse renal events five years later.

Surprisingly, there was no difference in AKI subgroups based on age, gender, diabetes rate, or major surgical operation. 

The authors presented a method for classifying AKI patient subpopulations to identify therapy-specific patient groups. Blood and urine biomarkers might assist in identifying subgroups of AKI patients, leading to novel therapeutic approaches.

(Source:https://www.news-medical.net/news/20230524/New-tests-based-on-biomarkers-may-improve-diagnosis-and-treatment-of-acute-kidney-injury.aspx)