Aiming with the Rifle

RIFLE is not RIFLE: on the comparability of results

Page 1 of 2 (page number not for citation purposes) In the consensus RIFLE criteria [1] of acute kidney injury (AKI) the thresholds given for serum creatinine (sCr) increase and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) decrease (Table 1) do not correspond [2]. Direct measurement of GFR in clinical practice is difficult, and values are more often estimated (eGFR) by the Cockroft-Gault equation or the Mo...

RIFLE is alive: long live RIFLE

Diagnosis and classification of acute kidney injury was addressed systematically only 8 years ago when the classification called RIFLE (acronym of Risk, Injury, Failure, Loss of function and End stage Kidney disease describing progressive severity of renal damage) was created. Since then, several studies have tried to apply, validate, criticize and modify this initial scheme: as a matter of fac...

Aiming with bubbles

The bubbles that form in a cavitating liquid are mostly empty voids that can accelerate the surrounding fluid to very high speeds, in some cases focusing the liquid flow into needle thin jets. The military, for example, harnesses this effect to penetrate and sink large vessels with the huge cavitation bubble created with an underwater explosion. Now, a miniaturized (and more peaceful) version o...

[Air-rifle injuries of the eyes].

The RIFLE criteria: are the foundations robust?

We read with interest the article by Drs. Ostermann and Chang (1) about the RIFLE criteria as a classification of renal failure and as a prognostic factor in intensive care. We would like to make some comments, also valid for the other articles published on this topic. One important criterion in the RIFLE classification is the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). It is even the sole criterion used...