Six-month outcome in acute kidney injury requiring renal replacement therapy in the ICU: a multicentre prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess quality of life (QOL), mortality rate and renal function 6 months after onset of renal replacement therapy (RRT) for acute kidney injury (AKI) in the ICU. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: This prospective observational study was conducted in seven ICUs in France over 9 months. Inclusion criteria were: age > or =18 years, RRT delivered for AKI and informed consent signed. AKI was defined from the RIFLE score. Recipients of kidney grafts or patients undergoing chronic RRT were not included. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: QOL was assessed using the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire together with the Index of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) (0: full assistance to 6: no assistance). SF-36 was compared to a reference age- and sex-matched French population. Patient status, place of residence, and persistence of RRT, ADL and SF-36 were assessed at 28 days, 3 months and 6 months from inclusion. In the study period, 205 patients were included and 1 withdrew. At 6 months, 77/204 were alive (mortality 62%). SF-36 and ADL significantly increased from day 28 to 6 months. In the survivors at 6 months, SF-36 items were significantly lower than in the reference population, with the physical items more severely affected than the mental items; 64% were fully autonomous (ADL score = 6); 69% were living in their homes, and 12% were still undergoing RRT; 94% would agree to undergo the same management again. CONCLUSIONS: ICU survivors from RRT for AKI have an impaired QOL at 6 months, but sustained autonomy in their daily lives.

Prognosis of acute renal failure in the elderly.

UNLABELLED: Life expectancy is uncertain in the elderly with ARF. In order to determine whether a costly supportive management is worthwhile, we have studied a group of 68 elderly patients (over 65 years of age) admitted to the ICU with ARF. PATIENTS: 47 male; 21 female; 72 +/- 6 years old. Types of ARF include prerenal 24; obstructive 9; intrinsic 35 (acute tubular necrosis 30; glomerulonephritis 4; vascular 1). The mean simplified acute physiology score (SAPS) was 14 +/- 4; 39 patients (57.3%) had more than two underlying diseases; 42 patients (61.7%) were on mechanical ventilation; 40 patients (60%) underwent haemodialysis. The overall survival rate was 36.7%. Among the parameters studied, organic systemic failure index (OSF), diuresis, blood lactate, systolic blood pressure, urea appearance rate (UAR), differed significantly in survivors and deceased. From these results we conclude that the elderly with non-oliguric ARF, normal blood lactate, low catabolic state, and no more than two organ failures have a fair chance of recovering and should therefore be treated aggressively. In other cases, decisions to proceed with intensive supportive measures should be made according to individual characteristics.

Clinical and microbiological evaluation of a postdilutional hemofiltration system with in-line production of substitution fluid.

Safety and efficacy of a recently developed hemofiltration (HF) system with in-line production of substitution fluid (GHS-10; Gambro, Lund, Sweden) based on a sterilizing filtration of acetate buffered dialysate has been evaluated in 4 patients over a 6-month period. Two patients were prematurely excluded from the study: 1 because of acetate intolerance and the other because of kidney transplantation. Two patients completed the study (240 HF sessions). Treatment adequacy was maintained in the 2 medium term treated patients according to the usual clinical and biochemical criteria and a mean exchange volume of 100-105 liters/week (30-35 liters/session three times weekly). Urea kinetic modeling analysis performed over all HF cycles gave the following results: dialysis index (urea clearance.time-on HF/urea volume space) (KT/V) approximately 1-1.1, urea time averaged concentration (UREA TAC) approximately 15-20 mmol/l, and protein catabolic rate (PCR) approximately 1.1-1.2 g/kg/day. Rare clinical adverse symptoms observed during the course of sessions were attributed to acetate intolerance. Microbiological safety was confirmed in vivo by the absence of pyrogenic reactions after 240 HF sessions (approximately 7 m3 substitution fluid infused intravenously) and in vitro by the constant absence of bacteria and/or endotoxin content limulus amaebocyte lysate (LAL) sensibility threshold 10 pg/l within the infusate produced during the sham HF sessions. The fluid mass balance obtained with the GHS-10 monitor was excellent. The electrolyte composition as judged by Na variation remained in a range of 2-3%. GHS-10 used in this study for postdilutional HF confirms that a large quantity of intravenous quality fluid may be safely produced by ultrafiltration from dialysate. It also introduced a new dimension in biocompatibility of dialysis by demonstrating that sterile dialysate may be routinely produced and used for routine dialysis.