Kidney injury after surgery requiring dialysis
There are several factors that can cause kidney damage after surgery, such as dehydration, low blood pressure or infection. It is important for clinicians to monitor patients’ kidney function and fluid status after surgery. This measure identifies patients who have kidney damage that requires dialysis following a wide range of elective surgeries. It is our goal to improve patient outcomes and minimize the number of patients who experience post-operative kidney failure.
Postoperative kidney complications can be life-threatening and generally are not expected as complications of elective surgery. While some patients have higher risks than others, some of these complications may be preventable. A lower rate may indicate that a hospital provides a higher level of patient care.
About this measure
This measure tracks the number of elective surgery patients who had acute kidney failure requiring dialysis while they were in the hospital, out of every 1000 patients who had elective surgery.
In this case, a lower number is better.