Advances in laboratory detection of acute kidney injury

Recent advances have improved our understanding of the epidemiology and pathophysiology of acute kidney injury (AKI). So far, the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcome guidelines define and stratify kidney injury based on increases in serum creatinine level and/or decreases in urine output. Although the term AKI acknowledges the existence of cellular injury, its diagnosis is still only defined by the reduced excretory function of the kidney. New biomarkers that aid a better understanding of the relationship between acute tubular injury and kidney dysfunction have been identified, reflecting the advances in molecular biology. The expression of some of these novel biomarkers precedes changes in conventional biomarkers or can increase their predictive power. Therefore, they might enhance the clinical accuracy of the definition of AKI. This review summarizes the limitations of the current AKI classification and a panel of candidate biomarkers for augmenting AKI classification and recognition of AKI subphenotypes. We expect that the integration of appropriately selected biomarkers in routine clinical practice can improve AKI care.