Sepsis and acute kidney injury are bidirectional

Sepsis is the most common cause of acute kidney injury (AKI). There has been a growing body of evidence demonstrating the association between worsening of kidney function during sepsis and the risk of short- and long-term mortality. AKI in sepsis is associated with poor outcome and independently predicts increased mortality. Sepsis-associated AKI may therefore serve as a biomarker of adverse physiological events that portends worse outcome. Conversely, the important role of sepsis among intensive care unit patients with nonseptic AKI is increasingly being recognized. Indeed, sepsis represents a significant contributing factor to the overall mortality and incomplete recovery of kidney function in subjects who developed nonseptic AKI. Because AKI portends such an ominous prognosis in sepsis and vice versa, there has been a surge of interest in elucidating mechanisms underlying the complex and bidirectional nature of the interconnections between AKI, sepsis and multiorgan dysfunction. Accumulating data indicate that AKI can trigger several immune, metabolic and humoral pathways, thus potentially contributing to distant organ dysfunction and overall morbidity and mortality. The expanding population of patients with sepsis and AKI, and the associated excess mortality provide a strong basis for further research aimed at addressing more rigorously all potentially modifiable factors to reduce this burden to patients and health care systems. Better insights into bidirectional and synergistic pathways linking sepsis and AKI might open the window for new therapeutic approaches that interrupt this vicious circle. Here, we discuss the rationale for and the current understanding of the bidirectional relationship between AKI and sepsis.