NINJA Program, Supported by VigiLanz, Helps Prevent Pediatric AKI

The following is an excerpt from Pharmacy Practice News. For more information about the collaboration between VigiLanz and Cincinnati Children’s to reduce AKI, please read our press release and learn more about the solution that is functional and customizable for any hospital, regardless of EMR platform.

Dubbed NINJA, or Nephrotoxic Injury Negated by Just-in-time Action, a new solution enables real-time identification and monitoring of pediatric patients at risk for acute kidney injury (AKI) from exposure to nephrotoxic drugs.

So far, the program appears to be putting a significant dent in the problem—a greater than 40% reduction in AKI, which the authors contend has reached epidemic proportions in the nation’s hospitals.

Nephrotoxic medication exposure is one of the most common causes of AKI in children. “We know that children need nephrotoxins. These are lifesaving medications,” said Stuart L. Goldstein, MD, the director of the Center for Acute Care Nephrology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and primary developer of NINJA. “But children should only get the nephrotoxic medications they need for the duration they need them.