Mortality Higher From AKI Versus Kidney Failure From Other Causes

THURSDAY, July 2, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Kidney failure resulting from acute kidney injury (AKI) leads to a higher risk of death in the first six months compared to kidney failure from diabetes or other causes, according to a study published online June 17 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Silvi Shah, M.D., from the University of Cincinnati, and colleagues used data from the U.S. Renal Data System to identify 1,045,540 patients (mean age, 63 years) on incident dialysis from 2005 through 2014. Associations between kidney failure due to AKI and all-cause mortality were evaluated, as were associations of sex and race with kidney recovery.

The researchers found that three percent of patients on incident dialysis had kidney failure due to AKI. Kidney failure attributed to AKI was associated with a higher mortality in the first three months following dialysis initiation (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.28) and from three to six months (aHR, 1.16) compared with kidney failure due to diabetes mellitus. Just over one-third of patients with kidney failure due to AKI (35 percent) eventually recovered their kidney function; 95 percent of them within 12 months. Kidney recovery was less likely among women than men (aHR, 0.86) and also less likely in blacks (aHR, 0.68), Asians (aHR, 0.82), Hispanics (aHR, 0.82), and Native Americans (aHR, 0.72) compared to whites.

“This study suggests the need for developing customizable treatment strategies for patients with kidney failure due to AKI; in particular, focusing on factors promoting kidney recovery,” a coauthor said in a statement.

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