Among U.S. veterans, acute kidney injury (AKI) is common if they are hospitalized with COVID-19, putting them at a higher risk of death. Research data showed that AKI is associated with a longer hospital stay, a higher likelihood of needing to be put on a ventilator, and a 6.7 times higher risk of death, and this association was stronger in Black veterans.
In addition to being Black, study data showed that other predictors of AKI during veterans’ hospitalization with COVID-19 included older age, male gender, obesity, diabetes, hypertension and lower kidney function.
The study, led by Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly of the VA Saint Louis Health Care System and Washington University in Saint Louis, showed that 80% of patients with AKI developed it within one day of hospitalization, and 47% did not fully recover their kidney function by the time they were discharged.
“This is the first national study of AKI in COVID-19, and it told us that AKI is very common,” said Al-Aly. “It was also striking to see that nearly half of the veterans with AKI left the hospital with unresolved AKI — meaning that they will likely need long term follow-up and care, they will also likely suffer long term consequences lasting their lifetime. Their kidneys are scarred by COVID-19. Unresolved AKI and its long-term consequences are going to be part of the ‘long-haul COVID-19.’”
Source: Newswise November 16, 2020