What is the difference between aki and ckd

The two types of kidney failure, acute and chronic, are outlined below:. Acute kidney failure comes on quickly and is often curable. Chronic kidney failure, on the other hand, comes on slowly and generally leads to long-term dialysis. Many patients receiving dialysis between January 1, , and June 30, , suffered serious and unnecessary harm.

Two dialysis products used during that time period contained misleading product labeling. Learn how we develop our content.

To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. It looks like your browser does not have JavaScript enabled. Please turn on JavaScript and try again. Important Phone Numbers. Top of the page. Topic Overview Kidney problems can develop suddenly acute or over the long term chronic. Acute kidney injury AKI is usually caused by an event that leads to kidney malfunction, such as dehydration , blood loss from major surgery or injury, or the use of medicines.

Conversely there may be life-threatening fluid overload or electrolyte disturbances requiring emergent dialysis before the cause has even been established. Many cases of AKI occur in patients hospitalized for unrelated acute illness.

Kidney damage is characterized by albuminuria, urine casts, imaging findings, or abnormal renal biopsy. CKD is caused by long term diseases such as diabetes or hypertension. Patients can present with symptoms resulting directly from diminished kidney function.

These include malaise, nausea, decreased mental acuity, edema or decreased urine output. However, many patients have no clinical symptoms. In such patients, kidney disease is detected by laboratory tests that are obtained through routine screening or as part of an evaluation of an unrelated illness. The management of AKI involves identifying and treating the underlying case as well as minimizing complications.

AKI is usually reversible. Kidney failure occurs when the kidneys lose their ability to function. To treat kidney failure effectively, it is important to know whether kidney disease has developed suddenly acute or over the long term chronic. Many conditions, diseases, and medicines can create situations that lead to acute and chronic kidney disease. Acute kidney injury, also called acute renal failure, is more commonly reversible than chronic kidney failure.

The presence or lack of symptoms may help your doctor determine whether acute kidney injury or chronic kidney disease is present. Most cases of acute kidney injury occur in people who are already in the hospital for other reasons. In these people, acute kidney injury is usually diagnosed when routine tests show a sudden increase in creatinine and blood urea nitrogen BUN levels.

A buildup of these waste products in the blood points to a loss of kidney function. Your doctor will compare these levels to previous tests to find out if kidney disease is acute or chronic.