Prevalence of Acute Renal Failure, Para-Clinical Outcomes, and Mortality in COVID-19 Patients

Objectives: Although acute respiratory syndrome is the main manifestation of COVID-19 disease, one of the characteristics of the disease is acute kidney injury (AKI). This study aimed to assess the prevalence of kidney dysfunction and para-clinical outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and its relationship with mortality.Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was carried out on 715 patients aged older than 16-years with a diagnosis of COVID-19 admitted to the tertiary teaching Imam Reza Hospital, Mashhad, Iran from February 2020 to February 2021. During hospitalization, these patients were evaluated for AKI based on the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes classification and mortality. Demographic variables and laboratory data were extracted from the hospital information systems electronic database. The significant risk factors for the incidence of AKI were analyzed using SPSS software in the present study.Results: The mortality rate of the included patients was 18.9%, which expired during hospitalization. Mortality was higher among patients with stage 1-2 AKI (34.1%) and stage 3 AKI (44.9%) compared to patients without AKI (8.7%). Individuals in different stages of AKI were significantly older relative to the non-AKI patients; hence, aging could be considered as the predictor of AKI. Leukocytosis, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were indicated as significant risk factors for the incidence of AKI.Conclusions: It was found that the prevalence of AKI was 37.2% in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and there was an association between mortality and the incidence of AKI.