Septic acute kidney injury: New concepts

Abstract

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a serious condition that affects many ICU patients. The most common causes of AKI in ICU are severe sepsis and septic shock. The mortality of AKI in septic critically ill patients remains high despite of our increasing ability to support vital organs. This is partly due to our poor understanding of the pathogenesis of sepsis-induced renal dysfunction. However, new concepts are emerging to explain the pathogenesis of septic AKI, which challenge previously held dogma. Throughout the past half century, septic AKI has essentially been considered secondary to kidney ischemia. However, recent models of experimental sepsis have challenged this notion by demonstrating th..