Acute Kidney Injury Care in Sharjah

What is acute kidney injury?

Healthy kidneys clean the blood around the clock. They remove waste, balance salts such as potassium and sodium, control the amount of water in the body and help keep the blood's acid level steady. Acute kidney injury, often shortened to AKI, means this work slows down suddenly, over hours or days, rather than over years as in long-term kidney disease.

In intensive care, the kidneys are among the organs most likely to come under strain, because they depend on a steady flow of well-oxygenated blood. Acute kidney injury care in Sharjah at Dar Al Kamal Hospital, Sharjah takes place in the ICU, where the team watches the kidneys closely alongside the heart, lungs and circulation, and works with the nephrology department whenever specialist kidney advice is useful.

Who needs it

Your relative's kidneys may struggle for several reasons, and often more than one applies at once:

• Low blood pressure or blood loss, which reduces the blood reaching the kidneys.
• Sepsis, where the body's reaction to an infection affects many organs together.
• Dehydration, for example after severe vomiting, diarrhoea or heat exposure.
• Some medicines, including certain painkillers, some antibiotics and some blood pressure tablets, which the kidneys find harder to handle during illness.
• Contrast dye used in some scans, particularly when the kidneys are already weakened.
• Major surgery, or a blockage to the flow of urine.

People with diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or existing kidney disease, all common in the UAE, have less kidney reserve and are watched with particular care. Kidney strain is often one part of a wider picture, described on the multi-organ support page.

What happens

Acute kidney injury usually causes few symptoms of its own, so the team relies on measurements.

• Urine output. A urinary catheter lets nurses measure urine hour by hour. A falling amount is often the earliest sign that the kidneys need help.
• Blood tests. Regular checks of creatinine, urea, potassium and acid levels show how well the kidneys are filtering and whether salts are drifting out of their safe range.
• Blood pressure and fluids. Restoring good blood flow is often the most useful thing for the kidneys. The team gives fluids carefully, and medicines that support blood pressure are delivered through a central line by precise infusion pumps, as explained on the haemodynamic support page.
• Protecting the kidneys. Every medicine is reviewed. Those that may harm the kidneys are paused or swapped where possible, and doses of others are adjusted to match kidney function. Scans with contrast are weighed carefully.
• Correcting salts and acid. Medicines by drip or mouth help bring potassium and acid levels back into balance.

Some patients need kidney replacement therapy, such as dialysis, to clean the blood while the kidneys rest. At Dar Al Kamal Hospital, Sharjah this is planned with the nephrology team, or arranged by safe transfer to a hospital that provides it, with your family kept informed at each step.

Preparing for it

Families often hold information the team urgently needs. Here is how you can help:

• Bring a full list of medicines, including over-the-counter painkillers, herbal or traditional remedies and slimming products, since several of these affect the kidneys.
• Tell the team about any earlier kidney problems, recent blood test results, or scans with dye in the past few weeks.
• Share how much your relative was eating and drinking before admission, and any vomiting or diarrhoea.
• Choose one family contact for updates, including for relatives abroad following news from another time zone.
• Let the team know your relative's wishes about treatments such as dialysis, and any religious or cultural needs you would like respected.
• Write down your questions before speaking to the doctor.

Visiting arrangements are explained by the unit on admission.

Afterwards

Many people's kidney function recovers after acute kidney injury, sometimes fully and sometimes partly. Urine output often returns before the blood tests settle, so the team keeps checking both. Recovery can take weeks, and it is followed with repeat blood tests after discharge, because a person who has had acute kidney injury has a higher chance of kidney problems later.

Before your relative goes home, ask which medicines to restart, which to stop, and when the next blood test is due. Mention the kidney injury to every doctor and pharmacist, particularly before painkillers or scans with dye. A follow-up with a kidney specialist may be arranged through the nephrology department.

Contact your doctor or the hospital on 06 599 7777 promptly if your relative passes much less urine than usual, has swelling of the legs or face, becomes breathless or unusually drowsy, or has severe vomiting or diarrhoea. In an emergency, go straight to the nearest emergency department.

Cost and insurance

Most UAE health insurance plans cover acute kidney injury care within an intensive care stay. Insurers usually need prompt notification and ongoing approval, and dialysis or a transfer may need its own approval. The insurance office at Dar Al Kamal Hospital, Sharjah can guide your family on 06 599 7777.