Incidence of acute kidney injury in hospitalized COVID-19 patients from a tertiary care hospital

ABSTRACT

Background: Novel coronavirus disease caused by SARSCoV- 2, primarily manifest as an acute respiratory illness;however, it can also affect multiple organs, such as kidneys, heart, digestive tract, hematological and the nervous system. Acute kidney injury (AKI) has been reported in up to 25% of critically-ill patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, especially in those with underlying comorbidities. Aim of the Study To study the incidence of Acute Kidney Injury in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted in Dept of Respiratory Medicine, KIMS Hospital and Research Centre, Bengaluru. A total of 1000 COVID patients were taken in the order of their admission to the hospital from Jan -May 2021. Blood urea and serum creatinine levels at the time of admission was collected. Ethical clearance was obtained from the institutional ethical committee. Results: Statistically significant correlation was found between the incidence of AKI and the COVID-19 disease severity and mortality. Correlation by Pearson 2 tailed shows a positive correlation with a value of 0.713. Patients with renal involvement had higher overall mortality compared with patients without renal involvement. Adverse short-term outcomes of renal involvement were associated with severity of COVID-19 pneumonia Conclusion: AKI could be used as a clinical characteristic in severity classification and risk stratification. Further investigation of the underlying mechanism of renal disease in COVID-19 would be needed to clarify possible therapeutic targets.