
One in four laboratory-defined AKI cases went undocumented on medicine wards
AI-summarized from the linked source. Educational brief, not medical advice.
Brief summary
A single-center retrospective cohort found that approximately one quarter of laboratory-defined acute kidney injury cases on internal medicine wards were not documented, particularly when maximal creatinine was lower.
What NurseJet pulled from the source
Among 161 adult hospitalizations meeting serum-creatinine criteria for acute kidney injury, 39 cases (24.2%) were undocumented. Length of stay and in-hospital mortality did not differ significantly by documentation status.
Why this matters for nurses
A smaller creatinine rise may receive less attention even when it meets the study's laboratory definition of acute kidney injury, which can affect how renal risk is communicated across the inpatient team.
Bedside takeaway
Trend ordered renal-function results and communicate clinically important changes through local escalation and documentation workflows.
Key takeaways
- In the 149 hospitalizations with a demonstrable creatinine change, 33 cases (22.1%) were undocumented.
- Higher maximal creatinine was associated with lower adjusted odds of underdocumentation.
- The study did not test whether a detection or documentation intervention improves care or outcomes.
Practice implications
- Trend ordered renal-function results and communicate clinically important changes through the care team according to local escalation and documentation workflows.
Limitations & cautions
- Abstract-only summary. This was a retrospective, single-center study of 161 hospitalizations; urine-output criteria and reliable preadmission creatinine values were unavailable, and the reference creatinine method may affect case classification.
- AI-summarized from the linked source. Review the original article before applying to practice.
Citations
Exact source links
Public citations are filtered to exact credible source pages. Homepage-only or invalid links stay in admin review and are not shown here.
Renal failure (PubMed)
Renal failure (PubMed). Underdocumentation of laboratory-defined acute kidney injury in internal medicine wards: a retrospective cohort study.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42703057/
Professional education only


