Kidney disease is associated with in-hospital death of patients with COVID-19.

Background Some patients with COVID-19 pneumonia also present with kidney injury, and autopsy findings of patients who died from the illness sometimes show renal damage. However, little is known about the clinical characteristics of kidney-related complications, including hematuria, proteinuria, and AKI. Methods In this retrospective, single-center study in China, we analyzed data from electronic medical records of 333 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, including information about clinical, laboratory, radiologic, and other characteristics, as well as information about renal outcomes. Results We found that 251 of the 333 patients (75.4%) had abnormal urine dipstick tests or AKI. Of 198 patients with renal involvement for the median duration of 12 days, 118 (59.6%) experienced remission of pneumonia during this period, and 111 of 162 (68.5%) patients experienced remission of proteinuria. Among 35 patients who developed AKI (with AKI identified by criteria expanded somewhat beyond the 2012 Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes definition), 16 (45.7%) experienced complete recovery of kidney function. We suspect that most AKI cases were intrinsic AKI. Patients with renal involvement had higher overall mortality compared with those without renal involvement (28 of 251 [11.2%] versus one of 82 [1.2%], respectively). Stepwise multivariate binary logistic regression analyses showed that severity of pneumonia was the risk factor most commonly associated with lower odds of proteinuric or hematuric remission and recovery from AKI. Conclusions Renal abnormalities occurred in the majority of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. Although proteinuria, hematuria, and AKI often resolved in such patients within 3 weeks after the onset of symptoms, renal complications in COVID-19 were associated with higher mortality.

Renal Involvement and Early Prognosis in Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a commonly encountered syndrome associated with various aetiologies and pathophysiological processes leading to decreased kidney function. In addition to retention of waste products, impaired electrolyte homeostasis and altered drug concentrations, AKI induces a generalized inflammatory response that affects distant organs. Full recovery of kidney function is uncommon, which leaves these patients at risk of long-term morbidity and death. Estimates of AKI prevalence range from <1% to 66%. These variations can be explained by not only population differences but also inconsistent use of standardized AKI classification criteria. The aetiology and incidence of AKI also differ between high-income and low-to-middle-income countries. High-income countries show a lower incidence of AKI than do low-to-middle-income countries, where contaminated water and endemic diseases such as malaria contribute to a high burden of AKI. Outcomes of AKI are similar to or more severe than those of patients in high-income countries. In all resource settings, suboptimal early recognition and care of patients with AKI impede their recovery and lead to high mortality, which highlights unmet needs for improved detection and diagnosis of AKI and for efforts to improve care for these patients.

Global epidemiology and outcomes of acute kidney injury

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a global public health concern associated with high morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Other than dialysis, no therapeutic interventions reliably improve survival, limit injury, or speed recovery. Despite recognized shortcomings of in vivo animal models, the underlying pathophysiology of AKI and its consequence, chronic kidney disease (CKD), is rich with biological targets. We review recent findings relating to the renal vasculature and cellular stress responses, primarily the intersection of the unfolded protein response, mitochondrial dysfunction, autophagy, and the innate immune response. Maladaptive repair mechanisms that persist following the acute phase promote inflammation and fibrosis in the chronic phase. Here macrophages, growth-arrested tubular epithelial cells, the endothelium, and surrounding pericytes are key players in the progression to chronic disease. Better understanding of these complex interacting pathophysiological mechanisms, their relative impo...

https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-med-050214-013407

Acute Kidney Injury.

AKI associates with increased long-term risk of mortality, but the prognostic significance of AKI in terms of long-term cardiovascular disease remains unconfirmed. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess whether AKI associates with long-term cardiovascular disease. We included cohort studies that examined adults with and without AKI and reported a multivariable-adjusted relative risk (RR) for the association between AKI and cardiovascular mortality, major cardiovascular events, and disease-specific events: congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and stroke. Twenty-five studies involving 254,408 adults (55,150 with AKI) were included. AKI associated with an 86% and a 38% increased risk of cardiovascular mortality and major cardiovascular events, respectively ([RR 1.86; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.72 to 2.01] and [RR 1.38; 95% CI, 1.23 to 1.55], respectively). For disease-specific events, AKI associated with a 58% increased risk of heart failure (RR 1.58; 95% CI, 1.46 to 1.72) and a 40% increased risk of acute myocardial infarction (RR 1.40; 95% CI, 1.23 to 1.59). The elevated risk of heart failure and acute myocardial infarction persisted in subgroup analyses on the basis of AKI severity and the proportion of adults with baseline ischemic heart disease. Finally, AKI was associated with a 15% increased risk of stroke (RR 1.15; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.28). In conclusion, AKI associates with an elevated risk of cardiovascular mortality and major cardiovascular events, particularly heart failure and acute myocardial infarction.

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AKI and Long-Term Risk for Cardiovascular Events and Mortality

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(15)00344-X.pdf

Wenping Hu

Papers

Acute kidney injury in China: a cross-sectional survey