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The incidence of AKI in hospitalized patients in Africa ranges from 0.3 to 1.9% in adults but is higher is patients with sepsis or who need intensive care. Between 70 and 90% of cases of AKI are community acquired. Most patients with AKI are young with a weighted mean age of 29.4 sd 9.3 years with a male to female ratio of 1.2. Medical causes account for between 65 and 80% of causes of AKI. This is followed by obstetric causes in14-27% of cases and surgical causes in 8-15% of cases. Between 17 and 94% of patients who needed dialysis received this. The mortality of AKI in adults in Africa was higher in ITU patients (65.7% sd 9.9) than in non ITU patients (27.5% sd 16.0). Most reported cases of AKI in Africa originate in the community. The low incidence of hospital acquired AKI is likely to be due to under ascertainment. Most patients with AKI in Africa are young and have a single precipitating cause. Prominent among these are infection, pregnancy complications and nephrotoxins. Early treatment can improve clinical outcomes.
