RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the major public health issues with constantly increasing incidence, with epidemiology and outcomes that vary substantially across the world. AIM: Aim of our study was to determine epidemiological characteristics and causes of AKI and to provide a comparison of our findings with data from other low and middle income countries. METHODS: This retrospective observational study conducted during an 18-month period included 84 patients. Data were collected from hospital information system and patients' medical records. All data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: More than two-thirds of patients were older than 56 years. Most cases of AKI (54,76%) were hospital-acquired and predominantly developed in intensive care units (32,14%). Dominant risk factor was underlying chronic kidney disease (48,81%) and chronic heart failure (45,24. In majority of patients (73,81%) were identified multiple factors that may have contributed to AKI: infection (90,48%), prerenal factors (77,38%), nephrotoxic agents (69,05%), and sepsis (28,57%). Multiple organ failure was identified in 94,05% of patients: cardiovascular (64,56%), respiratory (58,23%) and hematological (56,96%) system. Half of all patients were alive at last observation day. Leading cause of death was infection/sepsis (21,43%), followed by cancer (16,67%) and shock (14,28%). CONCLUSION: Data on AKI show great variation, but general picture of AKI resembles more that from high income countries. The need for dialysis and overall mortality remains high. This highlights the importance of early recognition of AKI, timely referral to nephrologist and need for national guidelines and standardized protocols for AKI.