Abstract
Abstract
Introduction
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common post-operative complication which, in turn, significantly increases risk of other post-operative complications and mortality. This quality improvement project (QIP) aimed to evaluate and implement measures to decrease the incidence of AKI in post-operative Trauma and Orthopaedics (T&O) patients.
Methods
Three data collection cycles were conducted using all T&O patients admitted to a single UK West Midlands NHS trust across three six-month periods between December 2018 and December 2020 (n=8215). Patients developing a post-operative AKI were identified using the Acute Kidney Injury Network criteria. Data was collected for these patients including demographic details and AKI risk factors such as ASA grade, hypovolaemia and use of nephrotoxic medications.
Results
The percentage of post-operative AKI decreased from 2% (71 patients from 5899 operations) in the first cycles to 1.5% (19 from 1273 operations) by the final cycle. There was a high prevalence of modifiable risk factors for AKI, including post-operative hypovolaemia (50%) and use of nephrotoxic aminoglycosides (81%). Measures implemented between cycles included a pre-operative medication review identifying nephrotoxic medications, early post-operative assessment for consideration of intravenous fluids and junior doctor teaching on fluid therapy. There was a substantial decrease in use of multiple nephrotoxic medications (98% to 59%) and in use of aminoglycosides (88% to 42%) between the final cycles which may explain the reduction in observed AKI incidence.
Conclusion
This QIP highlights the benefits of a multifaceted approach in the peri-operative period, through targeting of risk factors in preventing post-operative AKI.
