Pulmonary Consequences of Acute Kidney Injury

Mortality rates among critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) requiring renal replacement therapy typically exceed 50%, rates that have not improved significantly despite ongoing advancements in renal replacement therapy. A growing body of animal and human data have accumulated over the past 2 decades that have shown that AKI is associated with a series of distant organ effects that may contribute to the persistently high mortality of AKI. In this review, we describe the pulmonary sequelae of AKI, focusing on mechanisms of pulmonary edema in the context of traditional complications of AKI (eg, volume overload, acidosis) and nontraditional complications of AKI (eg, systemic inflammation). We review the complexities of volume management in patients with kidney and lung injury and subsequently delve into the clinical and basic science data on the mediators of lung injury after AKI. With an in-depth understanding of how the traditional and nontraditional effects of AKI can combine to produce pulmonary complications, effective management and therapeutic strategies may be developed.