Incidencia e impacto de Injuria Renal Aguda comunitaria e intrahospitalaria en un Hospital Universitario de Buenos Aires

Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common condition among hospitalized patients and is associated with a higher number of complications and death rate, as well as with longer hospitalization periods. Despite being a widely studied pathology, no data have been collected within our local context. Objectives: To determine the incidence of AKI in patients at a general hospital, its impact on mortality and hospitalization period. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on patients over 18 years old who had been admitted to the general ward or the intensive care unit at two CEMIC Medical College Hospitals from March to May 2013. AKI was defined according to the AKIN criteria. Death rate and hospitalization period were estimated for the AKI patients group and for the rest of the patients at these institutions. Results: 681 cases were reported, 50 of which were excluded due to lack of information and 125 due to stage V chronic kidney disease or kidney transplant. 52.2% of subjects were men; the mean age was 69 (56-79), and the mean creatinine level was 0.89 mg/dL (0.7-1.06). Global mortality was of 8.3% (42 cases). Out of the total number of subjects (506), 82 met criteria for AKIN stage-1 (60.3%); 25, for AKIN stage-2 (18.3%), and 29, for AKIN stage-3 (21.3%). The global incidence of AKI during the period was of 26.9% [hospital-acquired AKI (HA-AKI) = 12.5% and community-acquired AKI (CA-AKI) = 16.4%]. To calculate the number of HA-AKI cases, the CA-AKI patients were not included. The average hospitalization period for AKI patients was 9.5 days (5-17) and 4 days (2-8) for the rest of them. The mortality odds ratio (OR) associated with AKI was of 1.68 (CI: 0.98-2.88), but depending on the severity of the condition, the OR values were: 0.89 (CI: 0.39-2.05) for AKIN stage-1; 1.37 (CI: 0.39-4.81) for AKIN stage-2, and 20.95 (CI: 7.10-61.82) for AKIN stage-3. Conclusion: The incidence of AKI in patients admitted to the Internal Medicine Service was of 26.9%. Suffering from AKI while hospitalized correlates with a higher death rate and a longer hospitalization period. These results are similar to those in other reports.