Acute Kidney Injury and Mortality among Patients with Coronavirus Disease-2019 in Pakistan

Abstract

The kidney is the most vulnerable organ in coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients besides the lungs, with evidence of acute kidney injury (AKI). We aimed to find the prevalence of AKI among COVID-19 patients and further evaluate the association of between COVID-19 and AKI along with an understanding of mortality. A prospective observational study was conducted among COVID-19 patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital, Hayatabad Medical Complex, between March 2020 and June 2020. Chi-square test was applied for comparative analysis, whereas for predictors of mortality, odds ratios (OR) were calculated using logistic regression. A total of 606 patients with COVID-19 were admitted to the dedicated ward, of which 250 (41.3%) had AKI and 190 (31.4%) died, whereas, patients having AKI presented 62.1% of mortality. Our study revealed a statistically significant association between AKI and mortality (OR = 3.5; P <0.0001). Moreover, we observed a greater risk of deaths among patients with AKI stage I-III i.e., AKI stage I (OR = 2.4; P <0.0001), stage II (OR = 5.5; P = 0.0001), and stage III (OR = 6.6; P<0.0001). Our study reported AKI and associated mortality in a considerable number of patients with COVID-19. AKI patients have significantly higher chances of death versus non-AKI patients. Further, the risk of mortality increases with further deterioration in kidney function, i.e., patients with AKI stage III showed a higher mortality rate compared with stage II and stage I.