Advances In™ Cirrhosis: Reframing the Management of Hepatorenal Syndrome-Acute Kidney Injury: A Review of Current Strategies

Target Audience

This educational activity is directed toward health care providers treating patients with cirrhosis, including hepatologists, gastroenterologists, nephrologists, critical care specialists, physician assistants, and nurses. Other health care professionals also will be invited to participate.

Program Overview

HRS is the deadliest complication of cirrhosis. HRS-AKI, the extreme form of kidney injury in patients, is caused by a reduction in renal blood flow unresponsive to volume expansion. The literature surrounding HRS-AKI is rapidly evolving, and newer tests and updated definitions have been proposed, facilitating more timely identification and treatment of HRS. The number of patients with advanced liver disease in the United States is increasing; therefore, clinicians should be both aware of the risk of HRS-AKI in patients with cirrhosis and familiar with the guidelines on diagnosis and management.

In this program, Dr Elizabeth Verna and Dr Lisa B. VanWagner outline strategies for diagnosing and treating HRS-AKI patients and take an objective look at pharmacologic treatment, updated pathophysiology, and realistic goals of HRS-AKI treatment with a focus on slowing the progression of disease and consideration of treatment complications.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be better able to:

Describe recommended diagnostic practices for patients with HRS-AKI
Identify HRS-AKI as a unique disease with high morbidity and mortality
Identify reasons behind updated diagnostic criteria
Recognize the complex pathology of HRS-AKI and emerging approaches intended to intervene in disease progression