For patients with acute kidney injury (AKI), assessing vital sign, laboratory, and medication use data may be useful for understanding risk stratification, according to a study published in SAGE Open Medicine. Todd N. Brothers, PharmD, BCCCP, BCPS, and colleagues determined risk factors and correlates linked with AKI in critically ill adults, focusing on medication class usage. Of 226 patients, 147.8% experienced AKI; 34.3%, 36.1%, and 29.6% were classified as AKI stages I, II, and III, respectively. Analgesics/sedatives, IV fluids, and anti-infectives were considerable among both recovery and mortality cohorts. Increased risk for developing AKI was linked with IV-fluid electrolytes nutrition (96.7%), gastrointestinal agents (90.2%), and anti-infectives (81.5%). Time to AKI recovery was much faster in the stage I cohort compared with the stage III cohort. “The influence of particular medication classes further impacts the risk for developing AKI, necessitating the importance of examining pharmacotherapeutic regimens for early recognition of renal impairment and prevention,” the study authors wrote.
