Just published: COVID-19 and Acute Kidney Injury – A year of learning

We are pleased to announce the recent publication of the latest insight paper: Covid-19 and AKI – A Year of Learning Report

Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) can be defined as sudden onset kidney damage or failure from a variety of causes, and ranges in severity from minor to severe. It affects about one in six people who are admitted to hospital and can lead to death in one in four of those.

Our latest AQ report examines the relationship between COVID-19 and Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) using data collected over the past year of the pandemic (2020) from the North West of England. Research shows that people who have COVID-19 are at increased risk of developing AKI and also of dying with the condition; mortality from Covid-19 and AKI has been reported to be between 25-80% and may be higher for people requiring renal replacement therapy.

Early detection of AKI is a key priority and can prevent the patient’s condition becoming critical. Data has shown that COVID-19 increases the risk both of developing AKI and of dying from it, therefore it is important to consider AKI as part of COVID-19 management.

Examination of patient data and outcomes from the past year of the pandemic  across the North West has shown: the impact on non-elective admissions, factors that may increase patients’ risk of developing Covid-related AKI, the importance of recognising and managing AKI promptly  and effectively and the importance of striving for perfect care using a quality improvement (QI) approach.

You can read the full paper here.

The aim of the AQ Programme is to reduce unwarranted clinical variation in the care delivered to patients helping care organisations to reduce avoidable hospitalisation, ill health and premature death. The AQ AKI Programme requires . The paper was produced using data from the AQ programme, exploring the impact of delivering care in line with the AQ measures to help improve outcomes for patients with Covid-19 and AKI.

You can find out more about our Advancing Quality programme, and how the team can support you here.

Read the full report here.