Acute Kidney Injury and Information Technology.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication that occurs in critically ill patients and it is associated with a worse outcome. Since therapy options are limited, prevention and early detection are the essential cornerstones to improve patient outcomes. Therefore, using health information technology (HIT) to detect AKI early might be useful for clinicians. Patient data can be extracted real-time from electronic health records. Programmed electronic alert systems (e-alerts) can increase clinicians' awareness for AKI. Integrated into clinical decision support systems, implementation of HIT might improve clinical processes and patient outcomes. Several studies show the application of e-alerts in AKI detection and the implementation in processes of care. Monitoring nephrotoxic medication is one successful approach of implementing e-alerts in prevention of AKI. Information technology in AKI is in an early phase of development and further multicenter prospective studies are required to draw optimally on the maximum potential of this concept.