Rinaldo Bellomo Bücher

Over the last 10 years the syndrome of severe acute renal failure has progressively changed in its epidemiology. It is now most frequently seen in critically ill patients, typically in the context of sepsis and multiorgan failure. This epidemiologic change has meant that intensive care physicians and nephrologists must now work in close cooperation at all times and must take many com plex issues of prevention, pathogenesis, and management into account that they did not previously have to tackle. Simultaneously, the last 10 years have seen the development of major technical and conceptual changes in the field of renal replacement therapy. There are now previously unavailable therapeutic options that provide physicians with a flexible and rapidly evolving armamentarium. The nutrition of these patients, previously limited by the par tial efficacy of renal replacement therapies, has also become more aggressive and more in tune with the needs of critically ill patients. Increased understanding of the pathogenesis of the multi organ failure syndrome has focused on the role of many soluble „mediators of injury“ (cytokines, leukotrienes, prostanoids etc.). These molecules are likely to participate in the pathogenesis of acute renal failure. Their generation and disposal is also affected by different techniques of artificial renal support.

Focusing on Modern Critical Care Endocrinology, this issue features a range of articles addressing critical topics such as the management of diabetes insipidus and SIADH in the ICU, the role of estrogen therapy, and the impact of the angiotensin family in vasodilatory shock. It also explores the use of hydrocortisone, erythropoietin, and new oral diabetes agents, along with the implications of HbA1c levels and permissive hyperglycemia. Additional discussions include the effects of melatonin, thyroid hormone therapy, and hormonal therapy for organ donors, providing valuable insights for critical care practitioners.

2023 is the time to collect available knowledge and basic concepts around extracorporeal blood purification in a book that may become the basis for expansion of awareness in the scientific community and a stimulus for new studies and new discoveries by scientists and investigators. We need to answer the question for hemoadsorption that we answered in the last four decades for hemodialysis and CRRT. The pathway towards the new frontier of hemoadsorption starts from this book.

Continuous renal replacement therapies (CRRT) started off as an alternative to hemo- or peritoneal dialysis. Today's machines and techniques are the result of 4 decades of developments, studies, and practices which can be divided into 4 distinct stages: exploration and development; birth of a new specialty called critical care nephrology; design of specific new devices and machines; and interaction among various specialists to adapt extracorporeal therapies for multiple organ support and sepsis. This book features contributions from prominent CRRT experts from around the world. It is an important tool for educating a new generation of nephrologists and intensivists. At the same time, it provides the most advanced CRRT users with the latest technological information, the most updated clinical evidence, and the personal opinion of key leaders who contributed to the last 40 years of history in the field.