The following is a summary of “Clinical course and risk factors in COVID-19 patients with acute kidney injury,” published in the October 2022 issue of Primary care by Shahidi, et al.

In individuals with COVID-19, acute kidney damage (AKI) was the most frequent complication. The development of the disease and the results that were related to it were influenced by a number of elements. For a study, researchers included identifying the clinical characteristics of AKI and COVID-19 illness that were connected, as well as assessing the clinical results.

About 102 COVID-19 patients who experienced AKI were recruited in the current retrospective analysis and divided into three AKI phases. They looked at fundamental and clinical traits, clinical signs and symptoms, laboratory and imaging results, and treatment strategies. Then, clinical results, and the variables linked to patient death, were assessed.

The patients’ diabetes was the only clinical trait significantly different (P = 0.004). Higher stages of AKI were associated with a rising trend for the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (P = 0.027) and potassium (K) (P = 0.006) and a declining trend for the hemoglobin, albumin, and calcium factors (P <0.001). The most significant clinical outcomes were hypoproteinemia (P = 0.018) and secondary infection (P = 0.019). The factors that were associated with the mortality rate of COVID-19 patients with AKI included chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR = 1.362, P = 0.007), renal replacement therapy (OR = 2.067, P = 0.005), lung consolidation (OR = 0.722, P = 0.032), and bilateral pulmonary infiltration (OR = 4.793, P = 0.002).

The laboratory and clinical characteristics, as well as AKI, a significant COVID-19 complication that can predict a higher mortality rate, should be given more consideration to implement the proper preventive or supportive treatment approaches that are essential to lowering the mortality rate in the target patients.

Reference: journals.lww.com/jfmpc/Fulltext/2022/10000/The_clinical_course_and_risk_factors_in_COVID_19.47.aspx