Miriam Jacob, MD; Nicholas Smedira, MD; Eugene Blackstone, MD;
Sarah Williams, MS; Leslie Cho, MD

Andrea A. Finzi, MD,a Roberto Latini, MD,b Simona Barlera, MSc,b Maria G. Rossi, MD,c,k Albarosa Ruggeri, MD,d,k
Alessandro Mezzani, MD,e,k Chiara Favero, BSc,b Maria G. Franzosi, BiolD,b Domenico Serra, MD,b
Donata Lucci, MSc, f Francesca Bianchini, BSc,f Roberto Bernasconi ,b Aldo P. Maggioni, MD, f
Gianluigi Nicolosi, MD,g Maurizio Porcu, MD,h Gianni Tognoni, MD,i Luigi Tavazzi,MD, j and Roberto Marchioli, MDi
Milano, Reggio Calabria, Veruno, Florence, Pordenone, Cagliari, S Maria Imbaro, and Cotignola, Italy; and
Lugano, Switzerland

The development of postoperative acute kidney
injury (AKI) has been identified as the strongest
risk factor for death in patients undergoing
cardiac surgery.1 Patients requiring renal replacement
therapy for postoperative AKI have mortality rates ranging
from 40% to 80%, rates of similar magnitude as postoperative
cardiac arrest and more striking than those of
perioperative myocardial infarction or postoperative stroke
or coma.1,2

Horng H. Chen, MB, BCH

Nicholas L.M. Cruden, PhD, MBChB, MRCP,a,b,c Kristin Morch,a Daniel R. Wong, MD, MPH, FRCSC,b
W. Peter Klinke, MD, FRCPC,a,b John Ofiesh, MD, FRCSC,b and J. David Hilton, MD, FRCPCa,b British Columbia,
Canada; and Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Gastroenterology and Hepatology News continued

Despite advances in the management
of patients who suffer
a nontraumatic cardiac
arrest, survival rates remain
low, and many survivors have significant
neurologic dysfunction (1). Most advances
in management of these patients
have focused on early access to care, including
bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation
and automatic external defibrillators,
plus optimization of advanced
cardiac life support as outlined by the
American Heart Association.

John Gorcsan III, MD

Manuel Carnero-Alc
azar,MD,a Luis C.Maroto Castellanos,MD, PhD,a Jacobo A. SilvaGuisasola,MD, PhD,a
Javier Cobiella Carnicer, MD,a Ali Alswies, MD,a Manuel E. Fuentes Ferrer, MD, PhD,b and
Jos
e E. Rodr
ıguez Hern
andez, MDa

Dan D. Matlock, MD; Pamela N. Peterson, MD, MSPH; Paul A. Heidenreich, MD, MS;
F. Lee Lucas, PhD; David J. Malenka, MD; Yongfei Wang, MS; Jeptha P. Curtis, MD;
Jean S. Kutner, MD, MSPH; Elliott S. Fisher, MD, MPH; Frederick A. Masoudi, MD, MSPH