Nurses’ knowledge and confidence in acute kidney injury: a feasibility study

Abstract

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a sudden injury to the kidney, which increases morbidity and potentially leads to mortality. The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcomes and Death report (2009) estimated that 20% of fatal hospital AKI cases were attributable to failures in basic clinical assessment and delayed escalation of deteriorating patients. In this study, an AKI knowledge and confidence scale was delivered to a purposive, convenient sample of 30 non-renal nurses. Although the sample appeared knowledgeable and confident in escalating and treating AKI, there were deficiencies in knowledge and confidence in the relevance of abnormal physiological parameters, urinalysis and serum biochemistry. Varying levels of knowledge and confidence in recognising and preventing AKI may imply ineffective management.