Acute kidney injury in renal trauma patients

The kidney is the most commonly injured organ of the genitourinary system during trauma. We describe the associated risk factors for the development of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with renal trauma (RT).

We prospectively analyzed data from 65 patients who suffered RT from 2015 to 2019 at the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara. Demographic variables, clinical characteristics, and AKI risk factors were described. We assessed the risk factors related to AKI development.

In our study cohort, 60 (92.3%) patients were men, mean age 25 (20 - 30) years; the most common cause of RT was firearm injury in 26 (40%) of patients and 46 (70%) required surgery. AKI associated with RT developed in 39 (60%) patients. There were no differences between patients with or without AKI requiring nephrectomy (35.9 vs. 19.2%, p = 0.15). RT was classified as high-grade in 37 (56.9%) cases; high-grade RT increased four-fold the probability of AKI (adjusted OR 3.95, p = 0.05). A model for AKI prediction during RT was built with the most relevant variables: firearm injury, shock, emergency surgery, high-grade RT, and liver injury, all predicting AKI (ROC-AUC of 0.74 p = 0.02).

AKI occurred in 60% of cases with RT, and it was significantly associated with high-grade RT. Further studies will be required to confirm this association in other populations, which could lead to an earlier and proactive management of AKI in this setting.