Study co-authors include Ron Wald, MDCM, Chaim M. Bell, MD, PhD, FRCPC (University of Toronto, in Ontario, Canada); Marcello Tonelli, MD (University of Alberta, in Alberta, Canada), Brenda R. Hemmelgarn, MD, PhD, FRCPC (University of Calgary, in Alberta, Canada); and Sushrut S. Waikar, MD (Harvard Medical School).

In reviewing the results of Dr. James' and Dr. Chertow's study in an accompanying editorial, William McClellan, MD (Emory University) stated that the study was well-designed and that its results should encourage investigators to identify "potentially modifiable risk factors that contribute to mortality differences" so that efforts can be made to reduce AKI patients' risk of dying when admitted to the hospital on a weekend. He noted that current guidelines recommend that a patient who is admitted to the hospital for AKI should receive a timely consultation with a kidney specialist, a determination of the cause and severity of his or her condition, appropriate medications and nutritional support, and various other attributes of care. According to Dr. McClellan, it may be informative to determine how differences in these and other aspects of care might contribute to weekday-to-weekend and hospital-to-hospital variability in mortality of patients with AKI.

SOURCE American Society of Nephrology