Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a disease spectrum ranging from minimal elevation of serum creatinine to complete renal failure. It is significantly associated with increased mortality, length of hospital stay and medical care cost. With the increasing awareness of the importance of AKI, several high quality and multicenter epidemiological studies have been published recently in China. However, the results differ a lot due to the differences in regional economic development, the selection of target population and testing indicators, the disease definition and study strategies. The reported incidence of AKI in China is much lower than that in the developed countries. This article will analyze the current status and the problems facing AKI epidemiological studies of hospitalized patients with our own data and those from literature. The article intends to clarify the burden of AKI,to increase the awareness of AKI among clinicians and policy makers for achieving the goal of "zero by 2025" in China.
Acute Kidney Injury ; epidemiology ; China ; epidemiology ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Length of Stay