Acute kidney injury (AKI) refers to a sudden episode of kidney damage or failure. The leading cause of AKI is the build-up of waste products in the blood, but centers have reported an increased rate of AKI in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. This study aims to investigate the risk of AKI in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.
This is a retrospective observational study that included a total of 4,610 adults (3,345 with COVID-19 and 1265 without COVID-19), along with a cohort of 9,859 individuals. The primary outcome of the study was the incidence of AKI and its outcomes in the patients.
The findings suggested that the risk of AKI incidence was significantly higher among patients with COVID-19 (56.9%) compared with cohort participants (25.1%). Patients with AKI and COVID-19 were more likely to require renal replacement therapy (RRT) and less likely to recover kidney function, as compared to patients without COVID-19. Further analysis also suggested that males aged more than 50 years were at a higher risk of developing AKI.
The research concluded that patients hospitalized for COVID-19 were at an increased risk of AKI compared with controls. The findings also suggested that the incidence was higher in males aged more than 50 years.
Ref: https://jasn.asnjournals.org/content/early/2020/07/14/ASN.2020040509
