Adolescent growth provides a unique opportunity for the growing body to adapt to external stimuli. A positive association between site-specific mechanical loading and increases in regional bone mineral content (BMC) during adolescence is established. Mechanical loads associated with middle-distance running expose the skeleton to a combination of compressive ground reaction forces and muscular contraction. Previous studies concerning musculoskeletal health in active adolescents are largely limited to planar, two-dimensional measures of bone mineral status, using Dual X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA). Intrinsic bone material properties are accurately measured using DXA. However, the interaction between bone material and structural properties that reflects the mechanical integrity of bone require a combination of imaging modalities. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) provides a three-dimensional geometric and biomechanical assessment of bone. When MRI is integrated with DXA technology, an effective non-invasive method of assessing in vivo bone strength is achieved. The impact of high training volumes on musculoskeletal development of male and female adolescent athletes engaged in repetitive, high magnitude mechanical loading has not been investigated. Specifically, differences in total body and regional bone mineral, bone and muscle geometry, bone biomechanical indices and bone strength at differentially-loaded skeletal sites have not been compared between adolescent middle-distance runners and age- and gender-matched non-athletic controls. Objectives: (i) to investigate the effects of intense sports participation involving mechanical loading patterns on bone mineral, bone and muscle geometry, biomechanical indices and estimated regional bone strength between elite adolescent male and female middle-distance runners and age- and gender-matched controls (ii) to examine factors predictive of total body BMC, distal tibial bone geometry, distal tibial bone strength, and Hip Strength Analysis (HSA)- derived indicators of bone strength at the femoral neck. Methods: Four groups of 20 adolescents were comprised of male (mean (SD) age 16.8 ± 0.6 yr, physical activity 14.1 ± 5.7 hr.wk-1) and female (age 16 ± 1.7 yr, physical activity 8.9 ± 2.1 hr.wk-1) middle-distance runners, and male (16.4 ± 0.7 yr, physical activity 2.2 ± 0.7 hr.wk-1) and female (age 16 ± 1.8 yr, physical activity 2.0 ± 0.07 hr.wk-1) controls. Total body and regional BMC were calculated using DXA. Distal tibial bone and muscle cross-sectional areas (CSA) were assessed using MRI. To calculate distal tibial bone strength index (BSI), a region of interest representing 10% of the mid distal tibia was analysed for DXA-derived bone mineral and was combined with bone geometry and biomechanical properties from MRI assessments. Calculations for femoral neck strength were acquired from DXA-derived HSA software. Results: No differences were found between male athletes and controls for unadjusted BMC at total body or regional sites. After covarying for fat mass (kg), male athletes displayed greater BMC at the lumbar spine (p = 0.001), dominant proximal femur (p = 0.001) and dominant leg (p = 0.03) than male controls. No differences were found in distal tibial bone geometry, bone strength at the distal tibia or HSA-derived indicators of bone strength at the femoral neck between male athletes and controls. Lean tissue mass and fat mass were the strongest predictors of total body BMC (R2 = 0.71), total muscle CSA explained 43.5% of variance in BSI at the distal tibia, and femur length and neck of femur CSA explained 33.4% of variance at the femoral neck. In females, athletes displayed greater unadjusted BMC at the proximal femur (+3.9 ±1.4 g, p = 0.01), dominant femoral neck (+0.5 ± 0.12 g, p = 0.01) and dominant tibia (+4.1 ± 2.1 g, p = 0.05) than female controls. After covarying for fat mass (kg), female athletes displayed greater (p = 0.001) total body, dominant proximal femur and dominant leg BMC than female controls. Female athletes also showed greater distal tibial cortical CSA (+30.9 ± 9.5 mm2, p = 0.003), total muscle (+240.2 ± 86.4 mm2, p = 0.03) and extensor muscle (+46.9 ±19.5 mm2, p = 0.02) CSA, smaller medullary cavity (-32.3 ± 14.7 mm2, p = 0.03) CSA and greater BSI at the distal tibia (+28037 ± 8214.7 g/cm3.mm4, p = 0.002) than female controls. Lean tissue mass and fat mass were the strongest predictors of total body BMC (R2 = 65), hours of physical weekly activity and total muscle CSA explained 58.3% of the variance of distal tibial BSI, and neck of femur CSA accounted for 64.6% of the variance in a marker of femoral neck HSA. Conclusion: High training loads are associated with positive musculoskeletal outcomes in adolescent middle-distance runners compared to non-athletic controls. Exposure to similar high training loads may advantage female adolescent athletes, more than male adolescent athletes compared with less active peers in bone strength at the distal tibia.

<p>Across the world, physical inactivity was found to be associated with cardiovascular and chronic diseases of lifestyle which often leads to an increased rate of various physical disabilities andpremature death. To combat these high incidences of chronic diseases of lifestyle, WHO strongly encourages people to become physically active on a daily basis to reduce the risk of&nbsp / premature death. Running has thus become the preferred choice of physical activity by thousands of people to help improve their overall health and wellbeing. Apart from the health benefits&nbsp / that running provides, it can also predispose the runner to potential injury especially when runners follow an inappropriate training programme and have inadequate knowledge about factors causing injury. Therefore, baseline data about the prevalence, incidence of injury and the identification of the aetiological factors associated with running injuries are needed to develop and&nbsp / implement preventative programmes to allow runners to optimally perform in training and races without injury. In South Africa, there is limited research available on the incidence of injury in runners yet there is an annual increase in participation in races such as Two Oceans and Comrades marathon which could lead to an increase in the number of running injuries.Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of injuries and identify the various risk factors that are associated with injuries in road runners at a local athletic club. Methods: A prospective cohort study design over a 16 week period using quantitative research methods was used. A sample of 50 runners had consented to participate in the study. The participants had to complete a self-administered questionnaire and clinical measurements of BMI, Q-angle, leglength, muscle strength of lower leg and ROM of hip and knee were recorded. The participants had&nbsp / to complete an injury report form to record any new injuries sustained over the 16 week period of the study. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18 and software SAS v9 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA) was used for data capturing and analysis. Descriptive and inferential statistics were done to summarize the data and was expressed as frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations. Injury prevalence and cumulative incidence was calculated as a proportion rate along with 95% confidence interval. The Poisson regression model was used to analyse the association between running injury and the independent variables of interest such as demographics, anthropometric measurements, training methods, running experience and&nbsp / previous injury. The alpha level was set as p&lt / 0.05. Results: The study found that the majority (92%) of the participants (n=46) sustained running injuries in the past prior to the study. A total of 16 participants sustained a number of 50 new injuries over the 16 week study period. Thus the prevalence rate of injuries was 32%. The incidence rate of injuries for this study was 0.67 per&nbsp / 1000km run at a 95% confidence interval of 0.41, 1.08. Furthermore, the most common location of new injuries reported were the calf (20%) and the second most common location was the&nbsp / knee (18%). PFPS was the most common type of knee injury diagnosed, followed by lumbar joint sprain. The results showed that none of the identified factors (running distance, stretching, age, Q-angle, BMI, running experience, leg-length discrepancy and previous running injuries) were directly associated with running injuries. However, a marginal significance was found for&nbsp / running distance (p = 0.08) and leg length discrepancy (p = 0.06). Conclusions: The study found a high prevalence and incidence rate of injury thus the need for preventative programmes have been highlighted. There was no statistical significance found between the identified factors and risk of injury however, there was clinical relevance found between factors identified. One major&nbsp / limitation was the small sample of participants and the short duration of study period. Thus, future research is needed to further determine possible factors associated with running injuries over a longer period and including a larger sample. The results of the study will be made available to all the stakeholders (runners, coaches and medical team) to implement in athletic club. </p>

<p>Across the world, physical inactivity was found to be associated with cardiovascular and chronic diseases of lifestyle which often leads to an increased rate of various physical disabilities andpremature death. To combat these high incidences of chronic diseases of lifestyle, WHO strongly encourages people to become physically active on a daily basis to reduce the risk of&nbsp / premature death. Running has thus become the preferred choice of physical activity by thousands of people to help improve their overall health and wellbeing. Apart from the health benefits&nbsp / that running provides, it can also predispose the runner to potential injury especially when runners follow an inappropriate training programme and have inadequate knowledge about factors causing injury. Therefore, baseline data about the prevalence, incidence of injury and the identification of the aetiological factors associated with running injuries are needed to develop and&nbsp / implement preventative programmes to allow runners to optimally perform in training and races without injury. In South Africa, there is limited research available on the incidence of injury in runners yet there is an annual increase in participation in races such as Two Oceans and Comrades marathon which could lead to an increase in the number of running injuries.Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of injuries and identify the various risk factors that are associated with injuries in road runners at a local athletic club. Methods: A prospective cohort study design over a 16 week period using quantitative research methods was used. A sample of 50 runners had consented to participate in the study. The participants had to complete a self-administered questionnaire and clinical measurements of BMI, Q-angle, leglength, muscle strength of lower leg and ROM of hip and knee were recorded. The participants had&nbsp / to complete an injury report form to record any new injuries sustained over the 16 week period of the study. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18 and software SAS v9 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA) was used for data capturing and analysis. Descriptive and inferential statistics were done to summarize the data and was expressed as frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations. Injury prevalence and cumulative incidence was calculated as a proportion rate along with 95% confidence interval. The Poisson regression model was used to analyse the association between running injury and the independent variables of interest such as demographics, anthropometric measurements, training methods, running experience and&nbsp / previous injury. The alpha level was set as p&lt / 0.05. Results: The study found that the majority (92%) of the participants (n=46) sustained running injuries in the past prior to the study. A total of 16 participants sustained a number of 50 new injuries over the 16 week study period. Thus the prevalence rate of injuries was 32%. The incidence rate of injuries for this study was 0.67 per&nbsp / 1000km run at a 95% confidence interval of 0.41, 1.08. Furthermore, the most common location of new injuries reported were the calf (20%) and the second most common location was the&nbsp / knee (18%). PFPS was the most common type of knee injury diagnosed, followed by lumbar joint sprain. The results showed that none of the identified factors (running distance, stretching, age, Q-angle, BMI, running experience, leg-length discrepancy and previous running injuries) were directly associated with running injuries. However, a marginal significance was found for&nbsp / running distance (p = 0.08) and leg length discrepancy (p = 0.06). Conclusions: The study found a high prevalence and incidence rate of injury thus the need for preventative programmes have been highlighted. There was no statistical significance found between the identified factors and risk of injury however, there was clinical relevance found between factors identified. One major&nbsp / limitation was the small sample of participants and the short duration of study period. Thus, future research is needed to further determine possible factors associated with running injuries over a longer period and including a larger sample. The results of the study will be made available to all the stakeholders (runners, coaches and medical team) to implement in athletic club. </p>

ix Flexibility has traditionally been considered an important component of human physical fitness but this conjecture lacks supporting empirical evidence. While there is extensive published research examining the relative importance of flexibility and the impact of various methods of stretching on levels of flexibility, performance and injury risk, the quality of studies has varied considerably, reliability and validity of methodology has not always been proven, and rationale has at times been questionable. Additionally, much literature has focused on static flexibility which is not necessarily related to properties of the musculotendinous unit and thus dynamic flexibility. This thesis was designed to fill gaps in the existing literature by using accepted methods to establish relative and absolute reliability of hamstring flexibility tests, consider the comparability of static and dynamic components of the global concept of flexibility and explore how dynamic flexibility and performance are influenced by fatiguing exercise and subsequent static stretching. The first aim was realised by a repeated measures study designed to establish the intraday and interday, intrarater reliability and measurement error of static and dynamic measures of hamstring flexibility. Significant relative reliability for measures of static and dynamic hamstring flexibility was demonstrated via intraclass correlation coefficient (3,1) but limits of agreement analysis indicated there was a degree of absolute measurement error that must be interpreted in relation to analytical goals. The second aim required evaluation of relationships shared by static and dynamic measures of hamstring flexibility. Significant relationships between the different static flexibility tests were established but the extent of unexplained variance indicated that only measurements from the same tests should be directly compared to each other. Relationships between different measures of dynamic flexibility and static flexibility varied from non-significant to moderately strong, suggesting that measures of static and dynamic flexibility are not identical and results should not be interchanged between the two types of tests. Due to a lack of explanatory empirical evidence, the final chapter aimed via a prospective randomised repeated measures study to investigate the impact of fatigue and post-exercise static stretching on measures of dynamic flexibility and performance. Fatigue resulted in no significant changes to passive or active dynamic flexibility measures but a significant worsening of static flexibility levels and perceived stiffness. Post-exercise stretch resulted in significantly increased passive and active energy absorption immediately and 18 hours post-exercise and in significantly reduced joint position sense immediately post-exercise. Effect sizes were small so the clinical meaningfulness of performing post-exercise static stretching is questionable, particularly if performed in place of other, potentially more beneficial practices. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences / unrestricted

<p>Hronična bolest bubrega (HBB) je zdravstveni problem koji se javlja &scaron;irom sveta i povezana je sa visokim kardiovaskularnim komorbiditetom i smrtno&scaron;ću. Veliki porast broja bolesnika koji imaju terminalnu bubrežnu slabo&scaron;ću (TBS) nastaje kao posledica eksponencijalnog porasta broja bolesnika čija je slabost bubrega posledica hipertenzije i dijabetesa, kao i porasta broja starih sa TBS. Zbog toga vi&scaron;e od 50% bolesnika sa HBB umire zbog kardiovaskularnih bolesti i pre započinjanja lečenja metodama za zamenu funkcije bubrega. Utvrditi kliničke karakteristike bolesnika sa i bez kontrastom indukovane nefropatije (pre svega varijable bubrežne funkcije definasane pomoću AKIN i RIFLE kriterijuma) podvrgnutih kardiohirur&scaron;kim operacijama, potom utvrditi postojanje razlike u mortalitetu i postoperativnom morbiditetu između bolesnika sa i bez kontrastom indukovane nefropatije, a koji se podvrgavaju kardiohirur&scaron;koj operaciji i takođe utvrditi prediktore mortaliteta i morbiditeta kod bolesnika sa prethodnom kontrastom indukovanom nefropatijom koji se podvrgavaju kardiohirur&scaron;koj operaciji. Studija je koncipirana kao retroprospektivna opservaciona studija u ukupnom trajanju od pet godina retrospektivnog perioda i pola godine prospektivnog perioda kojim su obuhvaćene dve grupe bolesnika: I grupa - pacijenti sa kontrastom indukovanom nefropatijom (CIN) i II grupa - pacijenti bez CIN; koji su podvrgnuti kardiohirur&scaron;kim operacijama (koronarna, valvularna, kombinovana hirurgija i ostale) na Institutu za kardiovaskularne bolesti Vojvodine u Sremskoj Kamenici. Od ukupnog broja operisanih pacijenata u ovom perioda (oko 5000 bolesnika) u ovu studiju je uključeno 1269 bolesnika. U na&scaron;oj studiji ukupno je analizirano 1269 bolesnika koji su svrstani u dve grupe. Prvu grupu je činilo 59 (4,6%) pacijenata koji su koronarografisani (dijagnostička, terapijska) i razvili CIN te su upućeni u istoj hospitalizaciji po indikaciji konzilijuma na koronarnu, valvularnu i kombinovanu hirurgiju. Drugu grupu je činilo 1210 (95,4%) bolesnika kod kojih nakon koronarografije nije razvijena kontrastom indukovana nefropatija, a takođe su tokom iste hospitalizacije operisani. Kriterijumi za uključivanje pacijenata u studiju su svi punoletni bolesnici koji su upućeni na kardiohirur&scaron;ke operacije (koronarna, valvularna, kombinovana i ostale). CIN je definisan kao porast vrednosti kreatinina unutar pet dana nakon koronarografije za 25% u odnosu na vrednost kreatina pre koronarografije. Praćene su preoperativne, operativne i postoperativne karakteristike bolesnika sa CIN i bolesnika bez CIN. U disertaciji su kori&scaron;ćene mere deskriptivne statistike: aritmetička sredina, standardna devijacija, medijana, kvartili, frekvence i procenti. Za poređenje srednjih vrednosti varijabli dve populacije primenjen je test za nezavisne uzorke i Man-Vitnijev test. Povezanost kategorijskih varijabli ispitana je pomoću Hi-kvadrat testa za tabele kontigencije ili pomoću Fi&scaron;erovog testa. Određivanje uticaja promenljivih na ishod lečenja izvr&scaron;en je primenom univarijantne i multivarijantne binarne logističke regresije, koja je poslužila i za pravljenje nove varijable (modela) za procenu ishoda lečenja. Prediktivni kvalitet varijabli na ishod ocenjen je pomoću ROC krivih. Za određivanje dužine preživljavanja primenjena je Kaplan-Meier analiza preživljavanja. Uticaj varijabli na preživljavanje izvr&scaron;en je na osnovu Coxove regresione analize. Za statistički značajnu testa uzeta je vrednost p&lt;0,05. Statistička obrada podataka izvedena je primenom statističkog paketa SPSS 17. Dokazana je statistička značajnost u ispitivanim grupama u pogledu akutizacije bubrežne insuficijencije (p=0,007). Broj bolesnika sa akutizacijom bubrežne insuficijencije u grupi CIN je bio 3 (5,1%), a u grupi bez CIN je 6 (0,5%). Dokazana je statistička značajnost u ispitivanim grupama na osnovu perikardnog izliva (p=0,046). Statističku značajnost treba uslovno prihvatiti jer je broj bolesnika sa perikardnim izlivom u grupi sa CIN bio samo 1 (1,7%). Dokazana je statistička značajnost u ispitivanim grupama na osnovu mortaliteta (p&lt;0,0005). Broj umrlih u grupi pacijenata sa CIN je 8 (13,6%), a u grupi pacijenata bez CIN je 23 (1,9%). Dokazana je statistička značajnost u ispitivanim grupama na osnovu AKIN kriterijuma (p&lt;0,0005). Broj bolesnika bez AKIN kriterijuma u grupi sa CIN bio je 29 (49,2%), a u grupi pacijenata bez CIN je 1210 (100,0%). U Stadijumu 1 AKIN kriterijuma broj bolesnika u grupi sa CIN bio je 26 (44,1%), a u grupi bolesnika bez CIN je 0 (0,0%). U Stadijumu 2 AKIN kriterijuma broj bolesnika u grupi sa CIN bio je 1 (1,7%), a u grupi bolesnika bez CIN bio je 0 (0,0%). U Stadijumu 3 AKIN kriterijuma broj bolesnika u grupi sa CIN bio je 3 (5,1%), a u grupi bolesnika bez CIN bio je 0 (0,0%). Dokazana je statistička značajnost u ispitivanim grupama na osnovu RIFLE kriterijuma (p&lt;0,0005). Broj bolesnika bez RIFLE kriterijuma u grupi sa CIN bio je 0 (0,0%), a u grupi pacijenata bez CIN bio je 1169 (96,6%). U riziku (Risc) RIFLE kriterijuma broj bolesnika u grupi sa CIN bio je 51 (86,4%), a u grupi bolesnika bez CIN bio je 41 (3,4%). U o&scaron;tećenju (Injury) RIFLE kriterijuma broj bolesnika u grupi sa CIN bio je 5 (8,5%), a u grupi bolesnika bez CIN bio je 0 (0,0%). U stabost (Failure) RIFLE kriterijuma broj bolesnika u grupi sa CIN bio je 3 (5,1%), a u grupi bolesnika bez CIN bio je 0 (0,0%). Dokazana je statistička značajnost u ispitivanim grupama na osnovu broja komplikacija (p&lt;0,0005). Broj bolesnika bez komplijacija u grupi sa CIN bio je 39 (66,1%), a u grupi pacijenata bez CIN bio je 1027 (84,9%). Broj bolesnika sa 1 komplijacijom u grupi sa CIN bio je 12 (20,3%), a u grupi pacijenata bez CIN bio je 146 (12,1%). Broj bolesnika sa 2 komplijacije u grupi sa CIN bio je 6 (10,2%), a u grupi pacijenata bez CIN bio je 20 (1,7%). Broj bolesnika sa 3 komplijacije u grupi sa CIN bio je 1 (1,7%), a u grupi pacijenata bez CIN bio je 11 (0,9%). Broj bolesnika sa 4 komplijacije u grupi sa CIN bio je 1 (1,7%), a u grupi pacijenata bez kontrastom indukovane nefropatije bio je 6 (0,5%). Dokazana je statistička značajnost u ispitivanim grupama na osnovu MACE komplikacija (p&lt;0,0005). Broj bolesnika sa MACE komplikacijama u grupi sa CIN bio je 20 (33,9%), a u grupi pacijenata bez CIN bio je 183 (15,1%). Akutna bubrežna slabost je relativno česta komplikacija kardiohirur&scaron;kih operacija. Posebno su ugroženi bolesnici sa visokim preoperativnim rizikom, u na&scaron;oj studiji pacijenti sa prethodnim CIN-om, kod kojih je akutizacija bubrežne slabosti znatno učestalija. Kardiohirur&scaron;ki bolesnici kod kojih nastane akutna bubrežna slabost imaju, kao i u na&scaron;oj studiji, vi&scaron;e postoperativnih komplikacija, produžen boravak u jednici intenzivne nege, kao i rizik za nastanak hronične bubrežne bolesti.</p> / <p>Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a healthcare problem that occurs worldwide and is associated with high cardiovascular comorbidity and mortality. A large increase in the number of patients with terminal renal failure (TRF) occurs as a result of an exponential increase in the number of patients whose renal failure is due to hypertension and diabetes, as well as an increase in the number of elderly with TRF. As a result, more than 50% of patients with CKD die from cardiovascular disease even before starting treatment with kidney replacement therapy. To determine the clinical characteristics of patients with and without contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) (renal function parameters defined by AKIN and RIFLE criteria) undergoing cardiac surgery, to determine the difference in mortality and postoperative morbidity between patients with and without CIN who are submitted to cardiac surgery and also to determine predictors of mortality and morbidity in patients with CIN undergoing cardiac surgery. The study was conceived as a retroprospective observational study with a total duration of five years of retrospective period and half a year of prospective period which included two groups of patients: Group I - patients with contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) and Group II - patients without CIN; who underwent cardiac surgery (coronary, valvular, combined surgery and other) at the Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases of Vojvodina in Sremska Kamenica. Out of the total number of operated patients in this period (about 5000 patients), 1269 patients were included in this study. In our study, a total of 1269 patients were analyzed, which were classified into two groups. The first group consisted of 59 (4.6%) patients who underwent coronary angiography (diagnostic, therapeutic) and developed CIN and were submitted to surgery in the same hospitalization as indicated by heart team. The second group consisted of 1210 (95.4%) patients who did not develop CIN after coronary angiography but were also operated on during the same hospitalization. Criteria for inclusion of patients in the study are: all adult patients who are referred for cardiac surgery (coronary, valvular, combined and other). CIN was defined as a at least 25% increase in creatinine value within five days after coronary angiography compared to creatine value before coronary angiography. Preoperative, operative and postoperative characteristics of patients with CIN and patients without CIN were analyzed. Statistical analyses included measures of descriptive statistics: arithmetic mean, standard deviation, median, quartiles, frequencies and percentages. To compare the mean values of the variables of the two populations, t-test for independent samples and the Mann-Whitney test were applied. The correlation of categorical variables was examined using the Chi-square test for contingency tables or using the Fisher test. The influence of variables on the treatment outcome was determined by applying univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression, which also served to create a new variable (model) for assessing the treatment outcome. The predictive quality of outcome variables was assessed using ROC curves. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to determine survival length. The influence of variables on survival was performed based on Cox regression analysis. For a statistically significant test, the value of p &lt;0.05 was taken. Statistical data processing was performed using the statistical package SPSS 17. Statistical significance was observed in the examined groups regarding the acutization of renal failure (p = 0.007). The number of patients with acute renal failure in the CIN group was 3 (5.1%), and in the group without CIN it was 6 (0.5%). Statistical significance was observed between the examined groups based on pericardial effusion (p = 0.046). Statistical significance should be conditionally accepted because the number of patients with pericardial effusion in the group with CIN was only 1 (1.7%). Statistical significance was demonstrated in the examined groups based on mortality (p &lt;0.0005). The number of deaths in the group of patients with CIN was 8 (13.6%), and in the group of patients without CIN it was 23 (1.9%). Statistical significance was demonstrated in the examined groups based on the AKIN criteria (p &lt;0.0005). The number of patients without AKIN criteria in the group with CIN was 29 (49.2%), and in the group of patients without CIN it was 1210 (100.0%). In Stage 1 of the AKIN criterion, the number of patients in the group with CIN was 26 (44.1%), and in the group of patients without CIN it was 0 (0.0%). In Stage 2 of the AKIN criterion, the number of patients in the group with CIN was 1 (1.7%), and in the group of patients without CIN it was 0 (0.0%). In Stage 3 of the AKIN criterion, the number of patients in the group with CIN was 3 (5.1%), and in the group of patients without CIN it was 0 (0.0%). Statistical significance was demonstrated between the examined groups based on the RIFLE criteria (p &lt;0.0005). The number of patients without RIFLE criteria in the group with CIN was 0 (0.0%), and in the group of patients without CIN it was 1169 (96.6%). In the Risk of the RIFLE criterion, the number of patients in the group with CIN was 51 (86.4%), and in the group of patients without CIN it was 41 (3.4%). In the Injury of the RIFLE criterion, the number of patients in the group with CIN was 5 (8.5%), and in the group of patients without CIN it was 0 (0.0%). In the Failure of the RIFLE criterion, the number of patients in the group with CIN was 3 (5.1%), and in the group of patients without CIN it was 0 (0.0%). Statistical significance was demonstrated in the examined groups based on the number of complications (p &lt;0.0005). The number of patients without complications in the group with CIN was 39 (66.1%), and in the group of patients without CIN it was 1027 (84.9%). The number of patients with 1 complication in the group with CIN was 12 (20.3%), and in the group of patients without CIN it was 146 (12.1%). The number of patients with 2 complications in the group with CIN was 6 (10.2%), and in the group of patients without CIN it was 20 (1.7%). The number of patients with 3 complications in the group with CIN was 1 (1.7%), and in the group of patients without CIN it was 11 (0.9%). The number of patients with 4 complications in the group with CIN was 1 (1.7%), and in the group of patients without contrast-induced nephropathy it was 6 (0.5%). Statistical significance was demonstrated between the examined groups based on MACE complications (p &lt;0.0005). The number of patients with MACE complications in the group with CIN was 20 (33.9%), and in the group of patients without CIN it was 183 (15.1%). Acute renal failure is a relatively common complication of cardiac surgery. Vulnerable patients are particularly at risk, in our study patients with previous CIN, in whom the acutazation of renal failure is significantly more frequent. Cardiac surgery patients who develop acute renal failure have, as demonstrated in our study, more postoperative complications, prolonged stay in the intensive care unit, as well as the risk of developing chronic kidney disease.</p>