Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common critical syndrome, with high morbidity and mortality. Patients with AKI typically have an adverse prognosis, from incident chronic kidney disease (CKD), progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), subsequent cardiovascular disease, and ultimately death. However, there is currently no effective therapy for AKI. Early detection of risk factors for AKI may offer a good approach to prevention or early intervention. Traditional risk factors include extreme age, many common comorbid diseases, such as preexisting CKD, some specific exposures, such as sepsis, and exposure to some nephrotoxic agents. Recently, several novel risk factors for AKI, such as hyperuricemia, hypoalbuminemia, obesity, anemia, and hyperglycemia, have been identified. The underlying mechanisms between these nontraditional risk factors and AKI and whether their correction can reduce AKI occurrence remain to be clarified. This review describes the current epidemiology of AKI, summarizes its outcome, outlines the traditional risk profile, and finally highlights some recently identified novel risk factors.

ObjectivesThe most serious adverse reaction of cisplatin is acute kidney injury (AKI). Cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (CIA) has no specific preventive measures. This study aims to explore the characteristics and risk factors for CIA in the elderly and to identify potential methods to reduce CIA.Materials and methodsPatients ≥18 years old, with primary tumors, who received initial cisplatin chemotherapy and whose serum creatinine (SCr) values were measured within 2 weeks pre- and postcisplatin treatment and who had complete medical records, were selected from a single center from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2015. The exclusion criteria included radiotherapy or surgery, recurrent tumors, previous cisplatin treatment, lack of any SCr values before or after cisplatin therapy, and incomplete medical records.ResultsOut of a total of 527 patients, 349 were elderly. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker (ACEI/ARB) use (9.2%) was more prevalent in the elderly than in younger patients (2.8%, p = 0.007). The dosage of cisplatin treatment was lower in the elderly, but the incidence of CIA (9.46%) was higher in the elderly than in younger patients (3.37%). There were significant differences in the SCr levels, estimated glomerular filtration rate, ACEI/ARB use, and whether a single application of cisplatin was administered, between the elderly AKI group and the non-AKI group. Multivariable analysis showed that administration of a single application of cisplatin (OR 2.853, 95% CI: 1.229, 6.621, p = 0.015) and ACEI/ARB use (OR 3.398, 95% CI: 1.352, 8.545, p = 0.009) were predictive factors for developing CIA in the elderly.ConclusionThe incidence of CIA in the elderly was higher than in younger patients. ACEI/ ARB usage and administration of a single application of cisplatin were independent risk factors for CIA in the elderly.

Background: Handgrip strength (HGS) has been widely studied in clinical and epidemiological settings, but the relationship between HGS and pulmonary function is still controversial. This study analysed pulmonary function and HGS stratified by sex and age in a healthy Chinese Han population, as well as the associations between HGS and pulmonary function parameters. Methods: HGS was measured by a Jamar dynamometer and pulmonary function was tested using a portable spirometer. Frequencies and variables are presented as percentages and means ± standard deviations, respectively. Chi-square tests were used for comparisons of categorical variables, and Student's t-tests or Mann-Whitney U-tests were used for continuous variables. Pearson's correlation coefficients were used to analyse the normally distributed variables, and Spearman correlation coefficients were used to analyse the non-normally distributed variables. Multivariate linear regression models were employed to explore the relationships between HGS and parameters of pulmonary function. The statistical significance was set at p < 0.01. Results: Cross-sectional data were available for 1519 subjects (59.0% females, 57.9 ± 13.3 years old). Males had higher average HGS than females (40.2 vs. 25.0 kg, p < 0.01), as well as better pulmonary function. Both HGS and pulmonary function parameters were significantly inversely correlated with age (r ≤ − 0.30, p < 0.01). The maximum value of vital capacity (VC max), forced expiratory volume in 3 s (FEV 3) and forced vital capacity (FVC) were strongly correlated with HGS among the pulmonary function indices (r = 0.72, 0.70 and 0.69, respectively, p < 0.001). In the multivariate linear regression analysis, HGS and height were positively correlated, while age and pulse pressure were negatively correlated with HGS. In males, the FVC, VC max and FEV3 increased by 0.02 L, 0.023 L and 0.03 L in per 1 kg increase in HGS, respectively. The HGS coefficients for females were smaller than those for males. Conclusions: Both pulmonary function and HGS were inversely correlated with age, and better pulmonary function was associated with greater handgrip strength.

The risk factors, especially laboratory indicators, of prognosis after acute kidney injury (AKI) remain unclear. We conducted a retrospective survey of Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012 according to the AKI diagnosis standard issued by Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes. The epidemiological features and factors influencing hospital mortality and renal function recovery were evaluated through logistic regression analysis. Among 77 662 cases of hospitalized patients, 1387 suffered from AKI. The incidence rate and mortality of AKI were 1.79% and 14.56%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that high AKI stage, age greater than 80 years, neoplastic disease, low cardiac output, increased white blood cell count, and decreased platelet count and serum albumin levels were the risk factors affecting the mortality of AKI patients. Conversely, body mass index between 28 and 34.9 was a protective factor. Increased AKI stage, tumor disease, post-cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and RRT were the risk factors of renal function recovery upon discharge. In addition to traditional risk factors, white blood cell count, platelet count, albumin, and BMI were the predictors of the mortality of AKI patients. No laboratory indicators were found to be the risk factors of renal function recovery in AKI patients.

Purpose of the studyThe incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) with a poor prognosis in the elderly has been increasing each year. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of and risk factors for death from AKI in the elderly and help improve prognosis.Study designThis study was a retrospective cohort study based on data from adult patients (≥18 years old) admitted to 15 hospitals in China between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2011. The characteristics of AKI in the elderly were compared with those in younger patients.ResultsIn elderly patients with AKI, rates of hypertension, cardiovascular disease and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) were higher than in younger patients (44.2% vs 31.2%, 16.1% vs 4.6% and 20.9% vs 16.9%, respectively), the length of ICU stay was longer (3.8 days vs 2.7 days, P=0.019) and renal biopsy (1.0% vs 7.13%, P<0.001) and dialysis (9.6% vs 19.2%, P<0.001) were performed less. Hospital-acquired (HA) AKI was more common than community-acquired (CA) AKI (60.3% vs 39.7%), while the most common cause of AKI was pre-renal (53.5%). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that age (OR 1.041, 95% CI 1.023 to 1.059), cardiovascular disease (OR 1.980, 95% CI 1.402 to 2.797), cancer (OR 2.302, 95% CI 1.654 to 3.203), MODS (OR 3.023, 95% CI 1.627 to 5.620) and mechanical ventilation (OR 2.408, 95% CI 1.187 to 4.887) were significant risk factors for death.ConclusionsHA-AKI and pre-renal AKI were more common in the elderly. Age, cardiovascular disease, cancer, MODS and mechanical ventilation were independent risk factors for death in the elderly with AKI.