Global prevalence of kidney failure

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Around five per cent of those in intensive care experience kidney failure, according to a new study.
Kidney failure is often a complication of critical illness. But, till now, it's not been known how widespread the problem actually is. A team at Austin Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, has been looking at the prevalence of the condition in 54 hospitals in 23 countries around the world. The study showed that 5.7 per cent of the patients had kidney failure during their stay in intensive care.

The most common cause of kidney failure was septic shock - in nearly half the cases. About 30 per cent had kidney dysfunction of some kind before being admitted. And sixty per cent of those with kidney failure in intensive care die, which shows how serious the condition is. It can be treated with dialysis but is clearly a problem to which better solutions may be required.

Source
Journal of the American Medical Association 17th August 2005 Volume 294 pages 813-818

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