Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication in critically ill patients and it is
associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Epidemiological and clinical data show
that AKI is linked to a wide range of distant organ injuries, with the lungs, heart, liver, and
intestines representing the most clinically relevant affected organs. This distant organ injury
during AKI predisposes patients to progression to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and
ultimately, death. The strongest direct evidence of distant organ injury occurring in AKI has …

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in critically ill patients and is associated with increased
morbidity and mortality. Dysfunction of other organs is an important cause of poor outcomes
from AKI. Ample clinical and epidemiologic data show that AKI is associated with distant
organ dysfunction in lung, heart, brain, and liver. Recent advancements in basic and clinical
research have demonstrated physiologic and molecular mechanisms of distant organ
interactions in AKI, including leukocyte activation and infiltration, generation of soluble …