Acute Kidney Injury in SARS-CoV-2 Infected Critically III Patients

Objective: The main objective of this study is to evaluate the frequency of acute kidney injury (AKI) in COVID-19 infected patients who are hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU). Materials and Methods: This study was performed retrospectively on patients above 18 years of age who had a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a typical chest computed tomography (CT) for COVID-19 disease. The patients were hospitalized in the medical ICU and kidney disease improving global outcomes (KDIGO) criteria was used for AKI classification. Results: We included 16 patients. The median age was 75 years and 88% were male. The most common co-morbid diseases were hypertension (HT) (56%) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) (44%). The median acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores were 26 (19-32) and 7 (4-9) respectively. Patients median serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine levels were 27.8 (19.2-44.7) mg/dL, 1.32 (0.97-2.81) mg/dL respectively. According to the KDIGO classification: there was no AKI in 25% of the patients while, 19% stage 1, 12% stage 2 and 44% stage 3 AKI was observed. AKI developed in 75% of the patients. Conclusion: In this study we detected a high frequency of AKI in SARS-CoV2 infected patients hospitalized in the ICU.