Use of the NINJA (Nephrotoxic Injury Negated by Just-in-Time Action) Program to Identify Nephrotoxicity in Pediatric Patients with Cystic Fibrosis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to use and evaluate the Nephrotoxic Injury Negated by Just-in-time Action (NINJA) program in hospitalized patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
METHODS: This was a single-center study evaluating patients with CF who were hospitalized and admitted to the pulmonary service 4 months pre- and post-NINJA implementation. Postimplementation patients with high nephrotoxic medication (NTMx) exposure were identified using an electronic reporting tool that triggered the pharmacist to alert the medical team and recommend Monday/Wednesday/Friday serum creatinine (SCr) monitoring. High NTMx exposure was defined as 3 or more NTMxs given concurrently, or at least 3 consecutive days of IV aminoglycosides or vancomycin. Outcomes assessed were rate of SCr monitoring, NTMx exposure, and days of acute kidney injury (AKI) pre- and post-NINJA implementation.
RESULTS: A total of 19 patients and 25 high-NTMx exposures were identified both pre- and post-NINJA implementation. The SCr monitoring increased from 13% to 50% of NTMx exposure days in the pre- versus post-NINJA time frame. More NTMx exposure days occurred in the post-NINJA time frame, from 250 exposure days per 1000 patient days pre-NINJA to 521 post-NINJA. An increased incidence of AKI events and AKI days were noted post-implementation; however, these differences were not significantly different between the 2 groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Increased SCr monitoring for patients with NTMx exposure using NINJA uncovered more episodes of AKI. Increased prevalence of NTMx use was associated with increased rates of AKI. Increased SCr monitoring as a result of NINJA implementation may allow for earlier detection of AKI. Copyright. Pediatric Pharmacy Association. All rights reserved. For permissions, email: mhelms@pediatricpharmacy.org 2021.