Admission creatinine is associated with poor outcomes in burn patients

Renal failure is the most common organ failure in severely burned patients. However, defining acute kidney injury and renal failure is very challenging. This study was designed to determine the relationship between a biomarker commonly measured on admission, serum creatinine, and outcomes in burn patients.

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adult patients (≥ 18 years) with a burn ≥ 5% total body surface area (TBSA) and a serum creatinine level measured within the first 72 h after injury. Patients were admitted over an 11-year period and divided into two groups based on creatinine levels measured within the first 72 h after injury. Patients were categorized in the high creatinine group if they had a measured creatinine ≥107 μmol/L (≥1.21 mg/dL); this value was chosen as the threshold for creatinine based on our institution's reference range. Clinical outcomes included morbidities, hospital length of stay, and mortality. Multivariable logistic regression was used to model the association between high admission creatinine and each outcome, adjusting for patient and injury characteristics.

We studied 923 patients, mean age 47 ± 18 years and median 13% (IQR 8-24) TBSA burned. There were 718 patients categorized with low admission creatinine and 205 patients with high admission creatinine. After adjustment for patient and injury characteristics, high admission creatinine was associated with a significantly higher rate of sepsis (OR 3.44; 95% CI 2.11-5.59), pneumonia (OR 4.56; 95% CI 1.8-11.53), and mortality (OR 3.59; 95% CI 1.91-6.75).

Elevated creatinine on admission is associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. We suggest that admission creatinine can be used as a "red flag" to identify patients at a higher risk for poor outcomes.