Focus on renal blood flow in mechanically ventilated patients with SARS-CoV-2: a prospective pilot study

Mechanically ventilated patients with ARDS due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) seem particularly susceptible to AKI. Our hypothesis was that the renal blood flow could be more compromised in SARS-CoV-2 patients than in patients with "classical" ARDS. We compared the renal resistivity index (RRI) and the renal venous flow (RVF) in ARDS patients with SARS-CoV-2 and in ARDS patients due to other etiologies. Prospective, observational pilot study performed on 30 mechanically ventilated patients (15 with SARS-COV-2 ARDS and 15 with ARDS). Mechanical ventilation settings included constant-flow controlled ventilation, a tidal volume of 6 ml/kg of ideal body weight and the PEEP level titrated to the lowest driving pressure. Ultrasound Doppler measurements of RRI and RVF pattern were performed in each patient. Patients with SARS-COV-2 ARDS had higher RRI than patients with ARDS (0.71[0.67-0.78] vs 0.64[0.60-0.74], p = 0.04). RVF was not-continuous in 9/15 patients (71%) in the SARS-COV-2 ARDS group and in and 5/15 (33%) in the ARDS group (p = 0.27). A linear correlation was found between PEEP and RRI in patients with SARS-COV-2 ARDS (r² = 0.31; p = 0.03) but not in patients with ARDS. Occurrence of AKI was 53% in patients with SARS-COV-2 ARDS and 33% in patients with ARDS (p = 0.46). We found a more pronounced impairment in renal blood flow in mechanically ventilated patients with SARS-COV-2 ARDS, compared with patients with "classical" ARDS.