Early Versus Late Renal Replacement Therapy After Cardiac Surgery

The question of timing of initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT), "early" versus "late", has seldom been the focus of high-quality or rigorous evaluation. As a consequence, initiatives aimed at identifying the "optimal timing of initiation of RRT" in acute kidney injury (AKI) have been given the highest priority for investigation by the Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN). Accordingly, the investigators conducted a prospective, controlled, interventional trial, comparing two treatment groups in which the only variable was the RRT initiation strategy, to determine whether "early" versus "late" initiation in patients with AKI after cardiac surgery is associated with a survival benefit or more favorable outcomes.