Acute Kidney Replacement Therapy (KRT) in Pediatric Patients: A National Survey Assessing Nursing Structure and Standards in KRT Education.

Kidney replacement therapy (KRT) is an essential treatment for children with acute kidney injury, fluid overload, and toxin removal. Successful provision of KRT is important; however, no standard nursing education currently exists. The top 50 pediatric nephrology programs from the 2023 U.S. News & World Report and eight Canadian centers were surveyed regarding their KRT programs. Most programs perform KRT in three or more intensive care units (n = 31, 58.5%), use two or more machines (n = 44, 83%), and use two or more anticoagulation strategies (n = 34, 86.8%). There are multiple programmatic models utilized to set up, manage, and troubleshoot KRT. In 96% of institutions, education and competencies are standardized, yet methods vary. The survey reveals significant practice variation across institutions; however, KRT nursing education should be standardized to increase safety and improve outcomes.