ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate if in patients with COVID-19 hypoxemia is a risk factor of acute kidney injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cross-sectional, retrospective, descriptive, analytical study was done from May 1st to September 30th, 2020, including patients over 18 years of age admitted to the emergency service of a COVID-19 care medical center with the criteria of a suspected case of COVID-19 plus chest tomography with suggestive images. They were classified by the serum creatinine (SCr) value: Group 1 (G1) without acute kidney injury and group 2 (G2) with acute kidney injury. RESULT(S): One hundred and five patients were recruited. G1 included 32 patients (30.5%) and G2 73 (69.5%). Median SCr at admission was 0.7 and 1.0 mg/dL for G1 and G2, respectively (p = 0.05). The median PaO2/FiO2 at admission for G1 was 90 mmHg and for G2 105 mmHg (p = 0.76) without finding association with admission acute kidney injury;arterial oxygen saturation (SatO2) equal or higher than 92% to the moment of admission to the emergency department presented a negative correlation for the development of acute kidney injury (Pearson: -0.537, p = 0.04). CONCLUSION(S): In the initial phase of COVID-19, hypoxemia is not a triggering factor for acute kidney injury;however, SatO2 can be a distracting marker of respiratory stability since persistent hypoxemia would be one more conditioning of acute kidney injury.Copyright © 2022 Comunicaciones Cientificas Mexicanas S.A. de C.V.. All rights reserved.