Background: Recent studies have shown that the level of proteinuria increases after AKI. It is not yet shown if this increases risk of kidney disease progression.
Dr. Tony Ho
Study design: Prospective matched cohort study.
Setting: North American hospitals.
Synopsis: A total of 769 hospitalized adults with AKI were matched with those without based on clinical center and preadmission chronic kidney disease (CKD) status. Study authors found that albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 3 months after hospitalization were highly associated with kidney disease progression, with a hazard ratio of 1.53 for each doubling (95% confidence interval, 1.43-1.64).
Episodes of AKI were also associated with progression, but this is severely attenuated once adjusted for ACR, eGFR, and traditional CKD risk factors. This suggests more routine quantification of proteinuria after AKI for better risk stratification.
Bottom line: Posthospitalization ACR predicts progression of kidney disease.
Citation: Hsu CY et al. Post–acute kidney injury proteinuria and subsequent kidney disease progression. JAMA Intern Med. 2020 Jan 27. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.6390.
Dr. Ho is a hospitalist and associate professor of medicine at University of Texas Health, San Antonio.