Acute Kidney Injury and Chronic Kidney Disease and Their Impacts on Prognosis among Patients with Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia: An Expert Center Case–Cohort Study

Abstract

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with substantial mortality. In this case–control study, we analyzed the impacts of AKI and chronic kidney disease (CKD) on outcomes in a group of 323 patients with severe COVID-19. The correlation of clinical and laboratory data with AKI and CKD was also analyzed. Methods: A retrospective case–control study was conducted among AKI, CKD, and normal kidney function (NKF) groups hospitalized in a COVID-19 center in 2021. Results: AKI patients had higher in-hospital mortality (55.2 vs. 18.8%, p p p p p p = 0.013); however, transfers from the HDU to ICU were not more frequent (16.0 vs. 12.9%, p = 0.753). Conclusions: AKI among COVID-19 patients was correlated with more ICU transfers, higher morbidity, and greater markers of severe disease. Patients with CKD had a higher mortality; however, the rate of ICU transfer was not substantially higher due to their poor prognosis.

Keywords

• acute kidney injury
• COVID-19
• pneumonia
• mortality
• risk factors