Suffering from critical illness for a while, you could be at risk of kidney disease

More than half of the patients (53%) were above 65 years of age and two-thirds (67%) had high blood pressure. Patients who had experienced acute kidney illness were at an increased risk of renal complications, developing chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease, with septicemia and septic shock being the strongest risk factors.

People with acute critical illness have an increased risk of kidney complications and death, finds a study. “Patients with acute critical illness without apparent underlying renal disease -- a group traditionally considered to be at low risk of renal diseases -- have clinically relevant long-term renal risks,” wrote Dr. Shih-Ting Huang and Dr. Chia-Hung Kao of Taichung Veterans General Hospital and China Medical University, Taiwan, respectively.

Here’s how critical illness can increase risk of kidney complications.(Shutterstock)

Most studies have looked at patients with pre-existing kidney disease, while this study looked at data on 33, 613 Taiwanese patients with critical acute illness and no pre-existing kidney disease compared with 63, 148 controls for a medium-term renal outcome.

More than half of the patients (53%) were above 65 years of age and two-thirds (67%) had high blood pressure. Patients who had experienced acute kidney illness were at an increased risk of renal complications, developing chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease, with septicemia and septic shock being the strongest risk factors.

Of the critically ill patients in the study, 335 developed an end-stage renal disease, with a rate of 21 per 10 000 person-years compared with 4.9 per 10 000 person-years in the control group. Patients who developed chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease were at a higher risk of death.

The authors have suggested clinicians to monitor kidney functions at 30-90 day intervals in patients with acute critical illness without preexisting renal disease and then at least on a yearly basis, afterward.