Acute kidney injury (AKI) is becoming increasingly common among critically ill newborns.[Shutterstock]
For five agonising days, a newborn baby did not pass urine. The infant, only 17 days old, had already survived birth and been discharged home. But what should have been a period of bonding and recovery quickly turned into a medical emergency.
As the baby’s condition worsened, doctors at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) in Kisumu discovered that the newborn had developed acute kidney injury (AKI), a potentially fatal condition in which the kidneys suddenly stop functioning properly.
In the past, such a diagnosis would almost certainly have triggered an urgent referral to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret or Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) in Nairobi, journeys that can take hours and often come with enormous financial and emotional strain for families already battling for a child’s survival.
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