Motor Vehicle Injury and Kidney Damage: Trauma, Rhabdomyolysis, Acute Kidney Injury and Beyond.

Clinical Background: Automobile accidents constitute one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Kidney injury related to automobile accidents occurs through several mechanisms. Among the mechanisms are direct traumatic injury, rhabdomyolysis, acute renal failure, hypovolemic shock, and others. Kidney injuries after traffic accidents can have different forms of clinical presentation, which can include morphological and functional changes of the organ. Epidemiology: Annually, approximately 1.35 million individuals are fatal victims of motor vehicle accidents. Challenges: It is of the utmost importance to recognize and adequately manage kidney injuries secondary to automobile events, since their timely identification can prevent permanent damage to the organ and, at times, save lives. Prevention and Treatment: An approach with a focus on traffic safety is ideal for all users. The cornerstones of this approach are safe roads and road shoulders, adequate speeds, safe vehicles, and trained drivers. Kidney injury and death due to this condition can be prevented by effective and integrated traffic legislation. After the occurrence of traffic accidents, effective emergency care is vital. Thus, a series of urgent actions are essential to provide assistance to the injured individual. In patients who are victims of car accidents and develop acute kidney injury and rhabdomyolysis, a timely diagnosis is extremely important to be able to offer assistance to the patient still in the early stages.