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Until recently, no uniform standard existed for diagnosing and classifying acute renal failure. To clarify diagnosis, the Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative group stated its consensus on the need for a clear definition and classification system of renal dysfunction with measurable criteria. Today the term acute kidney injury has replaced the term acute renal failure, with an understanding that such injury is a common clinical problem in critically ill patients and typically is predictive of an increase in morbidity and mortality. A classification system, known as RIFLE (risk of injury, injury, failure, loss of function, and end-stage renal failure), includes specific goals for preventing acute kidney injury: adequate hydration, maintenance of renal perfusion, limiting exposure to nephrotoxins, drug protective strategies, and the use of renal replacement therapies that reduce renal injury.

Early mobility is an element of the ABCDEF bundle designed to improve outcomes such as ventilator-free days and decreased length of stay. Evidence indicates that adherence to an early mobility protocol can prevent delirium and reduce length of stay in the intensive care unit and the hospital and may decrease length of stay in a rehabilitation facility. Yet many barriers exist to implementing early mobility effectively, including patient acuity, uncertainty about when to start mobilizing the patient, staffing and equipment needs, increased costs, and limited nursing time. Implementation of early mobility requires interdisciplinary collaboration, commitment, and tools that facilitate mobility and prevent injury to nurses. This article focuses on aspects of care that can affect patient outcomes, such as preventing delirium, reducing sedation, monitoring the patient’s ability to wean from the ventilator, and encouraging early mobility. It also addresses the effects of immobility as well as challenges in achieving mobility and how to overcome them.

Prone positioning has been used as a treatment option for patients with acute lung injury or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) since the early 1970s. Prone position and extended prone position ventilation have been shown to increase end-expiratory lung volume, alveolar recruitment, and oxygenation in patients with severe hypoxemic and acute respiratory failure. Prone positioning is not a benign procedure, and there are potential risks (complications) that can occur to both the patient and the health care worker. Notable complications that can arise include: unplanned extubation, lines pulled, tubes kinked, and back and other injuries to personnel. Prone positioning is a viable, inexpensive therapy for the treatment of severe ARDS. This maneuver consistently improves systemic oxygenation in 70% to 80% of patients with ARDS. With the utilization of a standardized protocol and a trained and dedicated critical care staff, prone positioning can be performed safely.

Continuous renal replacement therapy is currently used as a standard treatment for acute kidney injury in the intensive care unit, particularly for patients with unstable hemodynamic status. Because this therapy is continuous, for days or weeks, and the extracorporeal blood circuit is large, the circuit is prone to clotting. Several methods of keeping the extracorporeal circuit patent are available, including heparin infusion, flushes with physiological saline, use of thrombin inhibitors, and citrate. This article reviews methods for continuous renal replacement therapy, anticoagulation, efficacy, and implications for bedside critical care. (Critical Care Nurse. 2016;36[2]:34-42)

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In recent years, we have experienced advances in treatments for severe ARDS. One that holds promise for these critically ill adult patients is ECMO, which can provide gas exchange and lung rest for the patient in severe reversible respiratory failure. Advances in ECMO techniques, appropriate patient selection and the development of heparinized tubing will all improve the potential for survival in patients who are placed on ECMO therapy in the future.