Acute Kidney Injury after Surgery: Where Does the Journey Lead?
Simon Gelman, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.N.Z.C.A.
 Author Notes
From the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
Accepted for publication September 26, 2019.
Correspondence: Address correspondence to Dr. Gelman: sgelman@bwh.harvard.edu
Anesthesiology Newly Published on October 25, 2019. doi:10.1097/ALN.0000000000003027

For decades acute kidney injury has been recognized as one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality during the perioperative period. Along this journey, anesthesiologists, surgeons, and critical care physicians have been exploring strategies to detect acute kidney injury earlier, and to find ways to protect the kidneys from perioperative acute kidney injury. In the current issue of Anesthesiology, a review by Gumbert et al. provides a comprehensive update on the pathophysiology, novel diagnostic approaches, and both translational and clinical research findings on preventing or treating acute kidney injury in surgical patients.1  Nevertheless, it feels as if we are still at the beginning of this journey. Continuing efforts to find better diagnostic approaches to recognize acute kidney injury earlier and to explore early detection strategies and ways to protect the kidneys have to be placed at the forefront in anesthesiology and perioperative medicine.