Executive Summary of the Fifth Edition of the Renal Association Clinical Practice Guidelines (2009–2012)

The Renal Association (RA) Clinical Practice Committee produces guidelines for the entire renal community in the UK. The Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee is one of three committees of the Clinical Affairs Board of the RA, the others being the Clinical Services Committee and Renal Registry Committee. The guidance within the RA Clinical Practice Guidelines supports the drive to improve renal services in the UK as described in The National Service Framework for Renal Services Part 1: Dialysis and Transplantation [1]; The National Service Framework for Renal Services Part 2: CKD, acute renal failure and end of life care [2]; Designed to Tackle Renal Disease in Wales [3] and publications by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (QIS) [4]. The current (fifth) edition of the clinical practice guidelines has been expanded to 14 separate modules covering the main subject areas in the management of patients with acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease, including specialist guidance on all of the major topics in dialysis and transplantation. The modular format facilitates wide peer review, more rapid publication than a single document and allows interim updating of individual guideline modules as and when required. The recommendations on the management of patients with renal disease are supported by an evidence based rationale followed by a list of the references which were cited in the rationale. Audit measures are included with the recommendations whenever this is appropriate. Thus the guidance provides an up-to-date template for current best practice in the management of renal disease within the UK healthcare system, serves to define the dataset collected by the UK Renal Registry, and includes clinical performance measures which may be used for local, regional and national audit.