Workstreams

AKI is a risky business and the Risk Workstream set out to raise awareness of the risk of AKI across the healthcare community.

The Workstream developed resources which are available on the Think Kidneys website and include:

The Risk Workstream worked with a range of people to develop the offer for the NHS. These included a range of healthcare professionals – clinicians, pharmacist, dietician as well as patients, hospital administrators and policy makers.

The most successful and enjoyable event was a face to face meeting in London that led to the development of the risk matrix and was a catalyst for a joint meeting of the Education, Risk and Intervention Workstreams. At this event the very important primary care resource – the STOP card was developed, which is being piloted in a number of areas at the time of writing. The AKI warning stage test result has proved an important driver to improving the recognition of patients with AKI in primary and secondary care. The Risk Workstream has supported its implementation but considered how to evaluate when individuals may be at risk, reinforcing the fact that patients are at risk of AKI in many communities. The concept of risk has evolved following the publication of the NICE guidance in 2013. Individuals may have fixed risk related to factors such as age or other illnesses, modifiable risk factors such as medications or clinical procedures. That inherent risk is then enhanced by a trigger event such as infection. Better understanding of the interplay between these factors will in time improve risk prediction and improve preventative strategies.