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A Large Animal Model for Acute Kidney Injury by Temporary Bilateral Renal Artery Occlusion
Published on: February 2, 2021
Key Elements of Clinical Communication After Inpatient Acute Kidney Injury: Modified Delphi Study From the AKINow
Y Diana Kwong1, Samuel A Silver2, Javier A Neyra3
1Division of Nephrology, UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, United States.
Summary
Consensus was reached on key elements for effective communication following acute kidney injury (AKI). Recommendations focus on medication changes, serum creatinine trends, and dialysis details for improved patient care.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Clinical Communication
- Healthcare Quality Improvement
Background:
- Effective communication is crucial for managing patients post-acute kidney injury (AKI).
- Current practices lack standardized elements for clear post-AKI clinical communication.
- This gap impacts continuity of care between inpatient and outpatient settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To achieve consensus on essential components for standardized clinical communication after inpatient AKI.
- To identify key information exchange needs between healthcare professionals involved in AKI care.
- To develop a guide for effective post-AKI communication.
Main Methods:
- A modified Delphi process involving three sequential survey and virtual discussion rounds.
- Recruitment of 47 international participants: physicians (nephrologists), allied health practitioners, and patients/caregivers.
- Quantitative summary of agreement levels (≥80% for consensus) and qualitative content analysis.
Main Results:
- Strong agreement on communicating medication adjustments and serum creatinine trends.
- Specific reporting requirements for dialysis patients at discharge (initiation and last date).
- Key communication topics for patients include medication changes, follow-up testing, and monitoring for kidney recovery.
Conclusions:
- Consensus was achieved by a multidisciplinary panel on critical post-AKI communication elements.
- The developed recommendations can significantly inform and improve post-AKI care.
- Potential limitations include generalizability due to participants primarily from high-resource settings.
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