Abstract
Background and Aims
It is evident that Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) influences the risk of developing AKI (Acute Kidney Injury) and recent studies suggest that CKD patients who experienced an episode of AKI are more likely to progress to end stage renal disease (ESRD) than patients without CKD. AKI-CKD association might originate from common comorbidities associated with both AKI and CKD, such as diabetes and/or hypertension, and concurrent increase in interventions leading to frequent exposure to various nephrotoxins. AKI in the elderly has been shown to increase the risk of progression to CKD to ESRD. AKI is common in critically ill patients, and those patients with the most severe form of AKI, requiring RRT, have a mortality rate of 50–80 %. Patients with an eGFR <45 ml/min per 1.73m2 who experienced an episode of dialysis-requiring AKI were at very high risk for impaired recovery of renal function. Our aim was to determine the reasons that initiate hemodialysis (renal decompensation) in patients with regular follow-up in the low clearance polyclinic without renal replacement treatment (RRT).
Method
The retrospective study included predialysis CKD patients who had followed up regularly and had undergone RRT in recent 4 years. Data on baseline characteristics and medical history were obtained from patient hospital records.
Results
Of the 228 patients, 155 (68%) were male and 73 (32%) were female. The mean age was 58 years (45-66). Diabetes Mellitus was the first in the etiology of CKD (26,3 %), the second was unknown (12,7 %), the third was hypertension (11,8 %). 145 patients (63,6%) underwent regular hemodialysis (HD) (62 years, 55-69), 25 patients (11%) began peritoneal dialysis (PD), 58 patients (25%) had renal transplantation. 52 patients underwent HD with renal decompensation, 22 (%42,3) had working arteriovenous fistula (AVF). There was no decompensation in patients with PD or transplantation plan. 34 patients started HD because of infections (65%), 8 patients (15%) after operations (4 was Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting-CABG), 6 patients (%11,5) after coronary angiography, 4 patients (7,5%) with cardiac decompensation. 2 patients died during the hospitalisation for infections. Of 145 HD patients, 89 (%61,4) had AVF. The patients who had renal decompensation were more older 63 (58-70), have lower Hgb 9,7 g/L (9,1-10,7) and albumin 3,5 g/L (3,2-3,9) level (p<0,05). There was no difference in eGFR at the beginning of HD between renal decompensation and other HD patients. 42 patients did not undergo HD at the time we suggested during visits. Of them 9 patients (%21) had renal decompensation (6 infections,3 CABG), 17 patients (%40) had AVF. 3 of them died. The others underwent HD for uremic complications.
Conclusion
We have shown that infections are as the leading cause of renal decompensation. Most of our patients who started to RRT from our low clearance outpatient clinic have chosen HD for RRT. Prevention of infections via vaccination programs or early diagnosis at regular policlinic or telephone visits, and informing patients adequately about nephrotoxic drugs or the conditions that may cause renal decompensation are among the first tasks of the predialysis outpatient clinic. Transition of CKD patients to RRTs, with proper preparation, neither late nor early- at the most appropriate time- should be among in our goals. This may reduce the cost of ESRD patients.
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