Introduction: Since the breakout of COVID-19 in December 2019, the virus has already affected and taken millions of lives over the past year. There is still much to learn about this disease. It has been postulated that the human kidney is a potential pathway for COVID-19 due to the presence of the ACE2 receptors found in the surfaces of kidney cells. Some studies that demonstrated acute tubular necrosis and lymphocyte infiltration among post mortem COVID-19 patients, concluding that the virus could directly damage the kidney, increasing the risk of the development of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) among patients with COVID-19. This study investigated the incidence and severity of AKI among hospitalized COVID-19 patients and the association of the degree of AKI with regards to the severity and outcomes of COVID-19 patients. Methods: This was a single-center cross-sectional study retrospective chart review of COVID-19 patients who developed AKI. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the general and clinical characteristics of the patients. Frequency and proportion were used for categorical variables. Shapiro-Wilk test was used to determine the normality distribution of continuous variables. Continuous quantitative data that met the normality assumption was described using mean and standard deviation, while those that did not were described using median and range. Continuous variables which are normally distributed were compared using the One-way ANOVA, while those variables that are not normally distributed were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis H test. For categorical variables, the Chi-square test was used to compare the outcomes. If the expected percentages in the cells are less than 5%, Fisher's Exact Test was used instead. Results: A total of 1441 COVID-19 in-patients from March 1, 2020 to March 1, 2021 were reviewed, 59 of whom were excluded. Among the adults with COVID-19 who developed AKI, 60% were in stage I, 10% in stage II, and 30% in stage III. The incidence of AKI among COVID-19 in-patients at Makati Medical Center was 13.10% (95% CI 11.36% - 14.99%). Among the 181 patients, 79 (43.65%, 95% CI 36.30 - 51.20) had died. The mortality rate is 22.02% for Stage I, 50% for Stage II, and 85.19% for Stage III. The median length of hospital stay was 12 days, ranging from 1 day up to 181 days. Full renal recovery on discharge was observed only in one-third of the patients. It was observed in 44.95% of those in Stage I, 27.78% of those in Stage II, and 5.56% of those in Stage III. Conclusion The study demonstrated that the incidence of AKI in hospitalized COVID-19 patients was 13.1% (95% CI 11.36% - 14.99%), which was lower than previously reported. This could be attributed to the longer study period wherein, to date, we have a better understanding of the disease and had already established a standard of care for treatment for the disease attributing to the decreased incidence of AKI among COVID-19 patients than what was initially reported. The development of AKI has a direct correlation with the degree of infection. Among patients who developed AKI, 20% required renal replacement therapy. Overall development of AKI increases the risk of mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The stage of AKI has a direct correlation with regards to mortality and has an indirect relationship with regards to renal recovery.
Acute Kidney Injury ; COVID-19 ; Renal Replacement Therapy ; Mortality

Humans ; Adult ; Renal Replacement Therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Acute Kidney Injury/therapy* ; Critical Illness/therapy*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate protective effect of Cordyceps sinensis (CS) through autophagy-associated adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway in acute kidney injury (AKI)-induced acute lung injury (ALI). METHODS: Forty-eight male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups according to a random number table, including the normal saline (NS)-treated sham group (sham group), NS-treated ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) group (IRI group), and low- (5 g/kg·d) and high-dose (10 g/kg·d) CS-treated IRI groups (CS1 and CS2 groups), 12 rats in each group. Nephrectomy of the right kidney was performed on the IRI rat model that was subjected to 60 min of left renal pedicle occlusion followed by 12, 24, 48, and 72 h of reperfusion. The wet-to-dry (W/D) ratio of lung, levels of serum creatinine (Scr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin- β and tumor necrosis factor- α, and biomarkers of oxidative stress such as superoxide dismutase, malonaldehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO), were assayed. Histological examinations were conducted to determine damage of tissues in the kidney and lung. The protein expressions of light chain 3 II/light chain 3 I (LC3-II/LC3-I), uncoordinated-51-like kinase 1 (ULK1), P62, AMPK and mTOR were measured by Western blot and immunohistochemistry, respectively. RESULTS: The renal IRI induced pulmonary injury following AKI, resulting in significant increases in W/D ratio of lung, and the levels of Scr, BUN, inflammatory cytokines, MDA and MPO (P<0.01); all of these were reduced in the CS groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Compared with the IRI groups, the expression levels of P62 and mTOR were significantly lower (P<0.05 or P<0.01), while those of LC3-II/LC3-I, ULK1, and AMPK were significantly higher in the CS2 group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSION CS had a potential in treating lung injury following renal IRI through activation of the autophagy-related AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway in AKI-induced ALI.
Rats ; Male ; Animals ; AMP-Activated Protein Kinases/metabolism* ; Cordyceps/metabolism* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Kidney/pathology* ; Acute Kidney Injury/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism* ; Reperfusion Injury/metabolism* ; Cytokines/metabolism* ; Acute Lung Injury/drug therapy* ; Mammals/metabolism*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the risk factors for poor prognosis in sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI) and establish a nomogram predictive model. METHODS: The clinical data of patients with SA-AKI admitted to the department of critical care medicine of Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University from January 2019 to September 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, including demographic information, worst values of blood cell counts and biochemical indicators within 24 hours of SA-AKI diagnosis, whether the patient received renal replacement therapy (RRT), mechanical ventilation, vasopressor therapy during hospitalization, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio (FAR) within 24 hours of diagnosis, acute kidney injury (AKI) staging, total length of hospital stay, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and others. According to the 28-day outcome, the patients were divided into survival group and death group, and the indicators between the two groups were compared. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were used to screen for risk factors associated with mortality in SA-AKI patients. A nomogram predictive model for SA-AKI prognosis was constructed based on the identified risk factors. Receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) and calibration plots were generated to evaluate the predictive value of the nomogram model for SA-AKI prognosis. RESULTS: A total of 113 SA-AKI patients were included, with 67 in the survival group and 46 in the death group. The 28-day mortality among SA-AKI patients was 40.7%. The comparison between the two groups showed that there were statistically significant differences in age ≥ 65 years, AKI stage, mechanical ventilation, vasopressors, RRT, length of ICU stay, and laboratory indicators cystatin C (Cys C), fibrinogen (Fib), and FAR. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age ≥ 65 years [odds ratio (OR) = 7.967, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 1.803-35.203, P = 0.006], cystatin C (OR = 7.202, 95%CI was 1.756-29.534, P = 0.006), FAR (OR = 2.444, 95%CI was 1.506-3.968, P < 0.001), and RRT (OR = 7.639, 95%CI was 1.391-41.951, P = 0.019) were independent risk factors for mortality in SA-AKI patients. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) for age ≥ 65 years, cystatin C, FAR, and RRT in predicting SA-AKI patient mortality were 0.713, 0.856, 0.911, and 0.701, respectively. A nomogram predictive model for SA-AKI patient prognosis was constructed based on age ≥ 65 years, cystatin C, FAR, and RRT, with an AUC of 0.967 (95%CI was 0.932-1.000) according to ROC curve analysis. The calibration plot indicated good consistency between predicted and actual probabilities. CONCLUSIONS Age ≥ 65 years, cystatin C, FAR, and RRT are independent risk factors for mortality in SA-AKI patients. The nomogram predictive model based on these four factors can accurately predict SA-AKI patient prognosis, helping physicians adjust treatment strategies in a timely manner and improve patient outcomes.
Humans ; Aged ; Cystatin C ; Retrospective Studies ; Intensive Care Units ; Sepsis/diagnosis* ; Acute Kidney Injury/therapy* ; Prognosis ; ROC Curve ; Fibrinogen

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is an important factor for the occurrence and development of CKD. The protective effect of dihydroartemisinin on AKI and and reported mechanism have not been reported. In this study, we used two animal models including ischemia-reperfusion and UUO, as well as a high-glucose-stimulated HK-2 cell model, to evaluate the protective effect of dihydroartemisinin on premature senescence of renal tubular epithelial cells in vitro and in vivo. We demonstrated that dihydroartemisinin improved renal aging and renal injury by activating autophagy. In addition, we found that co-treatment with chloroquine, an autophagy inhibitor, abolished the anti-renal aging effect of dihydroartemisinin in vitro. These findings suggested that activation of autophagy/elimination of senescent cell might be a useful strategy to prevent AKI/UUO induced renal tubular senescence and fibrosis.
Animals ; Kidney ; Acute Kidney Injury/chemically induced* ; Ischemia ; Reperfusion Injury/drug therapy* ; Autophagy ; Reperfusion

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical benefits of a vancomycin dosage strategy based on a serum trough concentration model in elderly patients. METHODS: This prospective single-center, open-label, randomized controlled trial categorized 66 elderly patients with severe pneumonia into study and control groups. The control group received vancomycin using a regimen decided by the attending physician. Meanwhile, the study group received individualized vancomycin therapy with a dosing strategy based on a serum trough concentration model. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with serum trough concentrations reaching the target values. The secondary endpoints were clinical response, vancomycin treatment duration, and vancomycin-associated acute kidney injury (VA-AKI) occurrence. RESULTS: All patients were at least 60 years old (median age = 81 years). The proportion of patients with target trough concentration achievement (≥ 15 mg/L) with the initial vancomycin regimen was significantly higher in the study group compared to the control group (75.8% vs. 42.4%, P = 0.006). Forty-five patients (68.2%) achieved clinical success, the median duration of vancomycin therapy was 10.0 days, and VA-AKI occurred in eight patients (12.1%). However, there were no significant differences in these parameters between the two groups. The model for predicting vancomycin trough concentrations was upgraded to: serum trough concentration (mg/L) = 17.194 - 0.104 × creatinine clearance rate (mL/min) + 0.313 × vancomycin daily dose [(mg/(kg∙d)]. CONCLUSION A vancomycin dosage strategy based on a serum trough concentration model can improve the proportion of patients achieving target trough concentrations in elderly patients with severe pneumonia.
Humans ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Middle Aged ; Vancomycin/therapeutic use* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use* ; Prospective Studies ; Retrospective Studies ; Acute Kidney Injury/drug therapy* ; Pneumonia/drug therapy*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence and risk factors of hypothermia in patients with acute renal injury (AKI) receiving continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), and to compare the effects of different heating methods on the incidence of hypothermia in patients with CRRT. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted. AKI patients with CRRT who were admitted to the department of critical care medicine of the First Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College (Yijishan Hospital) from January 2020 to December 2022 were enrolled as the study subjects. Patients were divided into dialysate heating group and reverse-piped heating group according to randomized numerical table method. Both groups were provided with reasonable treatment mode and parameter setting by the bedside physician according to the patient's specific condition. The dialysis heating group used the AsahiKASEI dialysis machine heating panel to heat the dialysis solution at 37 centigrade. The reverse-piped heating group used the Barkey blood heater from the Prismaflex CRRT system to heat the dialysis solution, and the heating line temperature was set at 41 centigrade. The patient's temperature was then continuously monitored. Hypothermia was defined as a temperature lower than 36 centigrade or a drop of more than 1 centigrade from the basal body temperature. The incidence and duration of hypothermia were compared between the two groups. Binary multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the influencing factors of hypothermia during CRRT in AKI patients. RESULTS: A total of 73 patients with AKI treated with CRRT were eventually enrolled, including 37 in the dialysate heating group and 36 in the reverse-piped heating group. The incidence of hypothermia in the dialysis heating group was significantly lower than that in the reverse-piped heating group [40.5% (15/37) vs. 69.4% (25/36), P < 0.05], and the hypothermia occurred later than that in the reverse-piped heating group (hours: 5.40±0.92 vs. 3.35±0.92, P < 0.01). Patients were divided into hypothermic and non-hypothermic groups based on the presence or absence of hypothermia, and a univariate analysis of all indicators showed a significant decrease in mean arterial pressure (MAP) in hypothermic patients (n = 40) compared with the non-hypothermic patients [n = 33; mmHg (1 mmHg ≈ 0.133 kPa): 77.45±12.47 vs. 94.42±14.51, P < 0.01], shock, administration of medium and high doses of vasoactive drug (medium dose: 0.2-0.5 μg×kg^-1×min^-1, high dose: > 0.5 μg×kg^-1×min^-1) and CRRT treatment were significantly increased [shock: 45.0% (18/40) vs. 6.1% (2/33), administration of medium and high doses of vasoactive drugs: 82.5% (33/40) vs. 18.2% (6/33), administration of CRRT (mL×kg^-1×h^-1): 51.50±9.38 vs. 38.42±10.97, all P < 0.05], there were also significant differences in CRRT heating types between the two groups [in the hypothermia group, the main heating method was the infusion line heating, which was 62.5% (25/40), while in the non-hypothermia group, the main heating method was the dialysate heating, which was 66.7% (22/33), P < 0.05]. Including the above indicators in a binary multivariate Logistic regression analysis, it was found that shock [odds ratio (OR) = 17.633, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 1.487-209.064], mid-to-high-dose vasoactive drug (OR = 24.320, 95%CI was 3.076-192.294), CRRT heating type (reverse-piped heating; OR = 13.316, 95%CI was 1.485-119.377), and CRRT treatment dose (OR = 1.130, 95%CI was 1.020-1.251) were risk factors for hypothermia during CRRT in AKI patients (all P < 0.05), while MAP was protective factor (OR = 0.922, 95%CI was 0.861-0.987, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS AKI patients have a high incidence of hypothermia during CRRT treatment, and the incidence of hypothermia can be effectively reduced by heating CRRT treatment fluids. Shock, use of medium and high doses of vasoactive drug, CRRT heating type, and CRRT treatment dose are risk factors for hypothermia during CRRT in AKI patients, with MAP is a protective factor.
Humans ; Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy ; Incidence ; Prospective Studies ; Acute Kidney Injury ; Dialysis Solutions

Humans ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/drug therapy* ; Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use* ; Acute Kidney Injury

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the protective effect of recombinant Schistosoma japonicum cystatin (rSj-Cys) against acute kidney injury induced by acute liver failure and unravel the underlying mechanism, so as to provide insights into the clinical therapy of acute kidney injury. METHODS: Twenty-four male C57BL/6J mice at ages of 6 to 8 weeks were randomly divided into the normal control group, rSj-Cys control group, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/D-galactosamine (D-GaIN) model group and LPS/D-GaIN + rSj-Cys treatment group, of 6 mice each group. Mice in the LPS/D-GaIN group and LPS/D-GaIN + rSj-Cys group were intraperitoneally injected with LPS (10 μg/kg) and D-GaIN (700 mg/kg), and mice in the LPS/D-GaIN + rSj-Cys group were additionally administered with rSj-Cys (1.25 mg/kg) by intraperitoneal injection 30 min post-modeling, while mice in the rSj-Cys group were intraperitoneally injected with rSj-Cys (1.25 mg/kg), and mice in the normal control group were injected with the normal volume of PBS. All mice were sacrificed 6 h post-modeling, and mouse serum and kidney samples were collected. Serum creatinine (Cr) and urea nitrogen (BUN) levels were measured, and the pathological changes of mouse kidney specimens were examined using hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. Serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 levels were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the expression of inflammatory factors and pyroptosis-related proteins was quantified in mouse kidney specimens using immunohistochemistry. In addition, the expression of pyroptosis-related proteins and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway-associated proteins was determined in mouse kidney specimens using Western blotting assay. RESULTS: HE staining showed no remarkable abnormality in the mouse kidney structure in the normal control group and the rSj-Cys control group, and renal tubular injury was found in LPS/D-GaIN group, while the renal tubular injury was alleviated in LPS/D-GaIN+rSj-Cys treatment group. There were significant differences in serum levels of Cr (F = 46.33, P < 0.001), BUN (F = 128.60, P < 0.001), TNF-α (F = 102.00, P < 0.001) and IL-6 (F = 202.10, P < 0.001) among the four groups, and lower serum Cr [(85.35 ± 32.05) μmol/L], BUN [(11.90 ± 2.76) mmol/L], TNF-α [(158.27 ± 15.83) pg/mL] and IL-6 levels [(56.72 ± 4.37) pg/mL] were detected in the in LPS/D-GaIN + rSj-Cys group than in the LPS/D-GaIN group (all P values < 0.01). Immunohistochemical staining detected significant differences in TNF-α (F = 24.16, P < 0.001) and IL-10 (F = 15.07, P < 0.01) expression among the four groups, and lower TNF-α [(106.50 ± 16.57)%] and higher IL-10 expression [(91.83 ± 5.23)%] was detected in the LPS/D-GaIN + rSj-Cys group than in the LPS/D-GaIN group (both P values < 0.01). Western blotting and immunohistochemistry detected significant differences in the protein expression of pyroptosis-related proteins NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 (NLRP3) (F = 24.57 and 30.72, both P values < 0.001), IL-1β (F = 19.24 and 22.59, both P values < 0.001) and IL-18 (F = 16.60 and 19.30, both P values < 0.001) in kidney samples among the four groups, and lower NLRP3, IL-1β and IL-18 expression was quantified in the LPS/D-GaIN + rSj-Cys treatment group than in the LPS/D-GaIN group (P values < 0.05). In addition, there were significant differences in the protein expression of NF-κB signaling pathway-associated proteins p-NF-κB p-P65/NF-κB p65 (F = 71.88, P < 0.001), Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 (F = 45.49, P < 0.001) and p-IκB/IκB (F = 60.87, P < 0.001) in mouse kidney samples among the four groups, and lower expression of three NF-κB signaling pathway-associated proteins was determined in the LPS/D-GaIN + rSj-Cys treatment group than in the LPS/D-GaIN group (all P values < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS rSj-Cys may present a protective effect against acute kidney injury caused by acute liver failure through inhibiting inflammation and pyroptosis and downregulating the NF-κB signaling pathway.
Mice ; Male ; Animals ; Interleukin-10 ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/genetics* ; NF-kappa B/therapeutic use* ; Interleukin-18/therapeutic use* ; Schistosoma japonicum/metabolism* ; Interleukin-6/therapeutic use* ; Lipopolysaccharides/therapeutic use* ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Acute Kidney Injury/drug therapy* ; Liver Failure, Acute ; Cystatins/therapeutic use*

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of fluid load on the prognosis of children with sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (AKI) undergoing continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). METHODS: A total of 121 children who underwent CRRT for sepsis-associated AKI from August 2018 to March 2021 were enrolled in the retrospective study. According to the fluid load from admission or disease progression to CRRT, they were divided into three groups: low fluid load (fluid load: <5%; n=35), high fluid load (fluid load: 5% - <10%; n=35), and fluid overload (fluid load: ≥10%; n=51). Baseline data and clinical biochemical data before CRRT were collected for comparison and analysis. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis was used for comparison of 28-day survival between groups. The multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify the influencing factors for the prognosis of the children. RESULTS: The survival analysis showed that the fluid overload group had a significantly higher 28-day mortality rate than the low fluid load and high fluid load groups (P<0.05). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that an increase in fluid overload volume was a risk factor for increased 28-day mortality in the fluid overload group, while earlier initiation of CRRT was a protective factor (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Fluid overload before CRRT may increase the mortality in children with sepsis-associated AKI, and CRRT should be performed for these children as early as possible.
Acute Kidney Injury/therapy* ; Child ; Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy ; Humans ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis/therapy*