Acute kidney injury in Lagos: Pattern, outcomes, and predictors of in-hospital mortality

Pregnancy-Associated Acute Kidney Injury in Low-Resource Settings: Progress Over the Last Decade

Despite immense global effort, the maternal mortality rate in low-resource settings remains unacceptably high. Globally, this reflects the grave inequalities in access to health and reproductive services. Pregnancy-associated acute kidney injury (PRAKI) is an independent risk factor for mortality. The reported incidence of PRAKI in low- and middle-income countries is higher than that of high-income countries (4%-26% versus 1%-2.8%, respectively). Hypertensive disorders are now the leading cause of PRAKI in many regions, followed by hemorrhage and sepsis. PRAKI in low-resource settings carries a high mortality for both mother and child. Outcome studies suggest that PRAKI is associated with residual kidney dysfunction and may lead to dialysis dependence. This can be a death sentence in many regions with limited kidney replacement therapy. This review will summarize data on PRAKI on the African, Latin American, and Asian continents over the past decade. It will include the progress in published data, mortality, and treatment interventions and provide recommendations for the next decade.

Mortality and predictors of acute kidney injury in adults: a hospital-based prospective observational study

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a major global public health problem. It is expensive to manage and associated with a high rate of prolonged hospitalization and in-hospital mortality. Little is known about the burden of acute kidney injury in moderate to low-income countries. We aim to assess predictors of in-hospital mortality among AKI patients admitted to the medical ward. We prospectively identified patients meeting kidney disease improving global outcomes (KIDGO) AKI definitions from April to August 2019. Patients with underlying CKD and patients hospitalized for less than 48 h were excluded. The Cox regression model was fitted to identify predictors of mortality and statistical significance was considered at the p-value of less than 0.05. A total of 203 patients were enrolled over 5 months. Out of this, 121(59.6%) were males, 58(28.6%) were aged greater than 60 years, and 141(69.5%) had community-acquired acute kidney injury. The most common causes of AKI were Hypovolemia 99(48.77%), Glomerulonephritis 51(25.11%), and sepsis 32(15.79%). The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 12.8%. Stage 3 AKI (AHR = 9.61, 95% CI 1.17-28.52, p = 0.035), duration of AKI (AHR = 7.04, 95% CI 1.37-36.08, p = 0.019), length of hospital stay (AHR = 0.19, 95% CI 0.05-0.73, p = 0.012), and hyperkalemia (AHR = 3.61, 95% CI 1.12-11.71, p = 0.032) were significantly associated with in-hospital mortality. There is a high rate of acute kidney injury-related in-hospital mortality in adult patients admitted to the medical ward. The severity of AKI, hyperkalemia duration of AKI, and a short length of hospital stay were predictors of 30-days in-hospital mortality. Most of the causes of AKI are preventable and patients may benefit from early identification and treatment of these reversible causes.

Challenges in the Recognition and Management of Acute Kidney Injury by Hospitals in Resource-Limited Settings

Introduction

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is prevalent in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, particularly among hospitalized patients. Successful strategies for the prevention and management of AKI in these countries are dependent on the capacity of primary care centers to provide optimal initial management of patients at risk for this disorder.

Methods

From December 2018 to February 2019, using mixed methods, we assessed hospital capacity and the knowledge of clinicians relevant to the prevention, diagnosis, and management of AKI in Rwanda. A checklist based on Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) guidelines and clinical vignette-based assessment tool were used to assess hospital capacity and provider knowledge base, respectively. Data were analyzed using stata 13 with findings reported as simple frequencies or means with standard deviation. Multivariate analysis was used to assess factors associated with a higher knowledge score among clinicians.

Results

Ten hospitals and 193 health care providers from sites throughout Rwanda participated in the survey. Surveyed hospitals were equipped with basic general medical equipment but were deficient in diagnostic tools and medical supplies that would allow the diagnosis and nondialytic management of AKI. Although 20% of the hospitals could offer hemodialysis services, peritoneal dialysis services were nonexistent. With regard to knowledge base, the health care providers demonstrated significant deficiencies in the diagnosis and management of AKI. The mean knowledge score for all health providers was 6.3 (±1.5) of a maximum of 11, with a mean (±SD) score for doctors, nurses, and midwives of 6.3 ± 2.05, 6.4 ± 1.3, and 6.08 ± 1.2, respectively. On multivariate analysis, the length of clinical experience and age of the respondents were significantly associated with participants’ knowledge score.

Conclusion

This study documents significant barriers to providing optimal management of AKI in primary health care settings in Rwanda, a resource-limited setting. These include lack of specialized medical personnel, significant knowledge gaps among primary health care providers, suboptimal diagnostic capacity, and limited treatment options for detection and management of AKI.