Improving Community Care for Kidney Disease after Hospital Discharge

Summary

This study considers patients, who during their hospital stay, had a sudden decrease in kidney function (known as acute kidney injury or AKI).

Sudden decreases in kidney function (known as acute kidney injury or AKI), are common in hospitalized patients. It occurs in 4-7% of all hospital admissions, and affects as many as 180,000 Canadians per year. Patients who develop kidney injury while in the hospital have a higher risk of developing chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular events (heart attack and stroke), and kidney failure requiring dialysis after hospital discharge.

At present we don't know who should be seen by a specialist or even whether receiving care from a kidney specialist reduces the risk of worsening (failing) kidney function after hospitalization. Our goal is to identify those patients who need specialized care at the time of hospital discharge so we can provide the right care to the right patients at the right time.

In this research study we will use a prediction tool that has been developed to identify these high risk patients and try different approaches to find out how to best care for patients who had an episode of AKI once they have left hospital.