Biomarkers in acute kidney injury: are we ready for prime time?

Novel biomarkers are required to improve the timely detection of early acute kidney injury (AKI) and to improve the differential diagnosis, prognostic assessment, and management of AKI cases. It is anticipated that novel biomarkers of early structural AKI ('acute kidney damage') will provide critical diagnostic and prognostic stratification and complement functional markers such as serum creatinine. Further studies are required to conclusively demonstrate the association between early kidney damage biomarkers and clinical outcomes, both with and independently of functional markers, and to discern whether or not randomization to a treatment for AKI based on high structural/damage biomarker levels results in an improvement in kidney function and clinical outcomes.