Fluid overload is associated with an increased risk for 90-day mortality in critically ill patients with renal replacement therapy: data from the prospective FINNAKI study

Introduction

Positive fluid balance has been associated with an increased risk for mortality in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury with or without renal replacement therapy (RRT). Data on fluid accumulation prior to RRT initiation and mortality are limited. We aimed to study the association between fluid accumulation at RRT initiation and 90-day mortality.

Methods

We conducted a prospective, multicenter, observational cohort study in 17 Finnish intensive care units (ICUs) during a five-month period. We collected data on patient characteristics, RRT timing, and parameters at RRT initiation. We studied the association of parameters at RRT initiation, including fluid overload (defined as cumulative fluid accumulation > 10% of baseline weight) with 90-day mortality.

Results

We included 296 RRT-treated critically ill patients. Of 283 patients with complete data on fluid balance, 76 (26.9%) patients had fluid overload. The median (interquartile range) time from ICU admission to RRT initiation was 14 (3.3 to 41.5) hours. The 90-day mortality rate of the whole cohort was 116 of 296 (39.2%; 95% confidence interval 38.6 to 39.8%). The crude 90-day mortality of patients with or without fluid overload was 45 of 76 (59.2%) vs. 65 of 207 (31.4%), P < 0.001. In logistic regression, fluid overload was associated with an increased risk for 90-day mortality (odds ratio 2.6) after adjusting for disease severity, time of RRT initiation, initial RRT modality, and sepsis. Of the 168 survivors with data on RRT use at 90 days, 34 (18.9%, 95% CI 13.2 to 24.6%) were still dependent on RRT.

Conclusions

Patients with fluid overload at RRT initiation had twice as high crude 90-day mortality compared to those without. Fluid overload was associated with increased risk for 90-day mortality even after adjustments.

Hemodynamic variables and progression of acute kidney injury in critically ill patients with severe sepsis: data from the prospective observational FINNAKI study

Introduction

Knowledge of the association of hemodynamics with progression of septic acute kidney injury (AKI) is limited. However, some recent data suggest that mean arterial pressure (MAP) exceeding current guidelines (60–65 mmHg) may be needed to prevent AKI. We hypothesized that higher MAP during the first 24 hours in the intensive care unit (ICU), would be associated with a lower risk of progression of AKI in patients with severe sepsis.

Methods

We identified 423 patients with severe sepsis and electronically recorded continuous hemodynamic data in the prospective observational FINNAKI study. The primary endpoint was progression of AKI within the first 5 days of ICU admission defined as new onset or worsening of AKI by the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria. We evaluated the association of hemodynamic variables with this endpoint. We included 53724 10-minute medians of MAP in the analysis. We analysed the ability of time-adjusted MAP to predict progression of AKI by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.

Results

Of 423 patients, 153 (36.2%) had progression of AKI. Patients with progression of AKI had significantly lower time-adjusted MAP, 74.4 mmHg [68.3-80.8], than those without progression, 78.6 mmHg [72.9-85.4], P < 0.001. A cut-off value of 73 mmHg for time-adjusted MAP best predicted the progression of AKI. Chronic kidney disease, higher lactate, higher dose of furosemide, use of dobutamine and time-adjusted MAP below 73 mmHg were independent predictors of progression of AKI.

Conclusions

The findings of this large prospective multicenter observational study suggest that hypotensive episodes (MAP under 73 mmHg) are associated with progression of AKI in critically ill patients with severe sepsis.

Effect of Inhaled Xenon on Cerebral White Matter Damage in Comatose Survivors of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Randomized Clinical Trial

IMPORTANCE

Evidence from preclinical models indicates that xenon gas can prevent the development of cerebral damage after acute global hypoxic-ischemic brain injury but, thus far, these putative neuroprotective properties have not been reported in human studies.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the effect of inhaled xenon on ischemic white matter damage assessed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

A randomized single-blind phase 2 clinical drug trial conducted between August 2009 and March 2015 at 2 multipurpose intensive care units in Finland. One hundred ten comatose patients (aged 24-76 years) who had experienced out-of-hospital cardiac arrest were randomized.

INTERVENTIONS

Patients were randomly assigned to receive either inhaled xenon combined with hypothermia (33°C) for 24 hours (n = 55 in the xenon group) or hypothermia treatment alone (n = 55 in the control group).

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The primary end point was cerebral white matter damage as evaluated by fractional anisotropy from diffusion tensor MRI scheduled to be performed between 36 and 52 hours after cardiac arrest. Secondary end points included neurological outcome assessed using the modified Rankin Scale (score 0 [no symptoms] through 6 [death]) and mortality at 6 months.

RESULTS

Among the 110 randomized patients (mean age, 61.5 years; 80 men [72.7%]), all completed the study. There were MRI data from 97 patients (88.2%) a median of 53 hours (interquartile range [IQR], 47-64 hours) after cardiac arrest. The mean global fractional anisotropy values were 0.433 (SD, 0.028) in the xenon group and 0.419 (SD, 0.033) in the control group. The age-, sex-, and site-adjusted mean global fractional anisotropy value was 3.8% higher (95% CI, 1.1%-6.4%) in the xenon group (adjusted mean difference, 0.016 [95% CI, 0.005-0.027], P = .006). At 6 months, 75 patients (68.2%) were alive. Secondary end points at 6 months did not reveal statistically significant differences between the groups. In ordinal analysis of the modified Rankin Scale, the median (IQR) value was 1 (1-6) in the xenon group and 1 (0-6) in the control group (median difference, 0 [95% CI, 0-0]; P = .68). The 6-month mortality rate was 27.3% (15/55) in the xenon group and 34.5% (19/55) in the control group (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.49 [95% CI, 0.23-1.01]; P = .053).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Among comatose survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, inhaled xenon combined with hypothermia compared with hypothermia alone resulted in less white matter damage as measured by fractional anisotropy of diffusion tensor MRI. However, there was no statistically significant difference in neurological outcomes or mortality at 6 months. These preliminary findings require further evaluation in an adequately powered clinical trial designed to assess clinical outcomes associated with inhaled xenon among survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00879892.

Association of endothelial and glycocalyx injury biomarkers with fluid administration, development of acute kidney injury, and 90-day mortality: data from the FINNAKI observational study

Background

Injury to endothelium and glycocalyx predisposes to vascular leak, which may subsequently lead to increased fluid requirements and worse outcomes. In this post hoc study of the prospective multicenter observational Finnish Acute Kidney Injury (FINNAKI) cohort study conducted in 17 Finnish intensive care units, we studied the association of Syndecan-1 (SDC-1), Angiopoetin-2 (Ang-2), soluble thrombomodulin (sTM), vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) with fluid administration and balance among septic critical care patients and their association with development of acute kidney injury (AKI) and 90-day mortality.

Results

SDC-1, Ang-2, sTM, VAP-1 and IL-6 levels were measured at ICU admission from 619 patients with sepsis. VAP-1 decreased (p < 0.001) and IL-6 increased (p < 0.001) with increasing amounts of administered fluid, but other biomarkers did not show differences according to fluid administration. In linear regression models adjusted for IL-6, only VAP-1 was significantly associated with fluid administration on day 1 (p < 0.001) and the cumulative fluid balance on day 5/ICU discharge (p = 0.001). Of 415 patients admitted without AKI, altogether 112 patients (27.0%) developed AKI > 12 h from ICU admission (AKI_>12 h). They had higher sTM levels than patients without AKI, and after multivariable adjustment log, sTM level was associated with AKI_>12 h with OR (95% CI) of 12.71 (2.96–54.67), p = 0.001). Ninety-day non-survivors (n = 180; 29.1%) had higher SDC-1 and sTM levels compared to survivors. After adjustment for known confounders, log SDC-1 (OR [95% CI] 2.13 [1.31–3.49], p = 0.002), log sTM (OR [95% CI] 7.35 [2.29–23.57], p < 0.001), and log Ang-2 (OR [95% CI] 2.47 [1.44–4.14], p = 0.001) associated with an increased risk for 90-day mortality. Finally, patients who had high levels of all three markers, namely, SDC-1, Ang-2 and sTM, had an adjusted OR of 5.61 (95% CI 2.67–11.79; p < 0.001) for 90-day mortality.

Conclusions

VAP-1 and IL-6 associated with fluid administration on the first ICU day. After adjusting for confounders, sTM was associated with development of AKI after 12 h from ICU admission. SDC-1, Ang-2 and sTM were independently associated with an increased risk for 90-day mortality.

Association of oliguria with the development of acute kidney injury in the critically ill

Urine output (UO) criterion may increase the sensitivity of the definition of acute kidney injury (AKI). We determined whether the empirically derived definition for oliguria (<0.5 ml/kg/h) is independently associated with adverse outcome. Data analysis included hourly recorded UO from the prospective, multicenter FINNAKI study conducted in 16 Finnish intensive care units. Confounder-adjusted association of oliguria of different severity and duration primarily with the development of AKI defined by creatinine criterion (Cr-AKI) or renal replacement therapy (RRT) was assessed. Secondarily, we determined the association of oliguria with 90-day mortality. Of the 1966 patients analyzed for the development of AKI, 454 (23.1%) reached this endpoint. Within this AKI cohort, 312 (68.7%) developed Cr-AKI, 21 (4.6%) commenced RRT without Cr-AKI, and 121 (26.7%) commenced RRT with Cr-AKI. Episodes of severe oliguria (<0.1 ml/kg/h) for more than 3 h were independently associated with the development of Cr-AKI or RRT. The shortest periods of consecutive oliguria independently associated with an increased risk for 90-day mortality were 6-12 h of oliguria from 0.3 to <0.5 ml/kg/h, over 6 h of oliguria from 0.1 to <0.3 ml/kg/h, and severe oliguria lasting over 3 h. Thus, our findings underlie the importance of hourly UO measurements.Kidney International advance online publication, 9 September 2015; doi:10.1038/ki.2015.269.

Six-month survival and quality of life of intensive care patients with acute kidney injury

INTRODUCTION

Acute kidney injury (AKI) has high incidence among the critically ill and associates with dismal outcome. Not only the long-term survival, but also the quality of life (QOL) of patients with AKI is relevant due to substantial burden of care regarding these patients. We aimed to study the long-term outcome and QOL of patients with AKI treated in intensive care units.

METHODS

We conducted a predefined six-month follow-up of adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients from the prospective, observational, multi-centre FINNAKI study. We evaluated the QOL of survivors with the EuroQol (EQ-5D) questionnaire. We included all participating sites with at least 70% rate of QOL measurements in the analysis.

RESULTS

Of the 1,568 study patients, 635 (40.5%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 38.0-43.0%) had AKI according to the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria. Of the 635 AKI patients, 224 (35.3%), as compared to 154/933 (16.5%) patients without AKI, died within six months. Of the 1,190 survivors, 959 (80.6%) answered the EQ-5D questionnaire at six months. The QOL (median with Interquartile range, IQR) measured with the EQ-5D index and compared to age- and sex-matched general population was: 0.676 (0.520-1.00) versus 0.826 (0.812-0.859) for AKI patients, and 0.690 (0.533-1.00) versus 0.845 (0.812-0.882) for patients without AKI (P <0.001 in both). The EQ-5D at the time of ICU admission was available for 774 (80.7%) of the six-month respondents. We detected a mean increase of 0.017 for non-AKI and of 0.024 for AKI patients in the EQ-5D index (P = 0.728). The EQ-5D visual analogue scores (median with IQR) of patients with AKI (70 (50-83)) and patients without AKI (75 (60-87)) were not different from the age- and sex-matched general population (69 (68-73) and 70 (68-77)).

CONCLUSIONS

The health-related quality of life of patients with and without AKI was already lower on ICU admission than that of the age- and sex-matched general population, and did not change significantly during critical illness. Patients with and without AKI rate their subjective health to be as good as age and sex-matched general population despite statistically significantly lower QOL indexes measured by EQ-5D.

Association of oliguria with the development of acute kidney injury in the critically ill

Urine output (UO) criterion may increase the sensitivity of the definition of acute kidney injury (AKI). We determined whether the empirically derived definition for oliguria(<0.5 ml/kg/h) is independently associated with adverse outcome. Data analysis included hourly recorded UO from the prospective, multicenter FINNAKI study conducted in 16 Finnish intensive care units. Confounder-adjusted association of oliguria of different severity and duration primarily with the development of AKI defined by creatinine criterion (Cr-AKI) or renal replacement therapy(RRT) was assessed. Secondarily, we determined the association of oliguria with 90-day mortality. Of the 1966 patients analyzed for the development of AKI, 454 (23.1%) reached this endpoint. Within this AKI cohort, 312 (68.7%)developed Cr-AKI, 21 (4.6%) commenced RRT without Cr-AKI, and 121 (26.7%) commenced RRT with Cr-AKI. Episodes of severe oliguria (<0.1 ml/kg/h) for more than 3 h were independently associated with the development of Cr-AKI or RRT. The shortest periods of consecutive oliguria independently associated with an increased risk for 90-day mortality were 6–12 h of oliguria from 0.3 to <0.5 ml/kg/h, over 6 h of oliguria from 0.1 to <0.3 ml/kg/h, and severe oliguria lasting over 3 h.Thus, our findings underlie the importance of hourly UO measurements.

Assessment of plasma endostatin to predict acute kidney injury in critically ill patients

BACKGROUND

We evaluated whether plasma endostatin predicts acute kidney injury (AKI), need for renal replacement therapy (RRT), or death.

METHODS

Prospective, observational, multicenter study from 1 September 2011 to 1 February 2012 with data from 17 intensive care units (ICUs) in Finland.

RESULTS

A total of 1112 patients were analyzed. We measured plasma endostatin within 2 h of ICU admission. Early AKI (KDIGO stage within 12 h of ICU admission) was found in 20% of the cohort, and 18% developed late AKI (KDIGO criteria > 12 h from ICU admission). Median (IQR) admission endostatin was higher in the early AKI group, 29 (19.1, 41.9) ng/ml as compared to 22.4 (16.1, 30.1) ng/ml for the late AKI group, and 18 (14.0, 23.6) ng/ml for non-AKI patients (P < 0.001). Endostatin level increased with increasing KDIGO stage. Significantly higher endostatin levels were found in patients with sepsis as compared to those without. Predictive properties for AKI, RRT, and mortality were low with corresponding areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.62, 0.67, and 0.59. Sensitivity analyses among patients with chronic kidney disease or sepsis did not improve the predictive ability of endostatin. Adding endostatin to a clinical AKI prediction model (illness severity score, urine output, and age) insignificantly changed the AUC from 0.67 to 0.70 (P = 0.14).

CONCLUSIONS

Endostatin increases with AKI severity but has limited value as a predictor of AKI, RRT and 90-day mortality in patients admitted to ICU. Moreover, endostatin does not improve AKI risk prediction when added to a clinical risk model.

Regional Practice Variation and Outcomes in the Standard Versus Accelerated Initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy in Acute Kidney Injury (STARRT-AKI) Trial: A Post Hoc Secondary Analysis

OBJECTIVES

Among patients with severe acute kidney injury (AKI) admitted to the ICU in high-income countries, regional practice variations for fluid balance (FB) management, timing, and choice of renal replacement therapy (RRT) modality may be significant.

DESIGN

Secondary post hoc analysis of the STandard vs. Accelerated initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy in Acute Kidney Injury (STARRT-AKI) trial (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT02568722).

SETTING

One hundred-fifty-three ICUs in 13 countries.

PATIENTS

Altogether 2693 critically ill patients with AKI, of whom 994 were North American, 1143 European, and 556 from Australia and New Zealand (ANZ).

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Total mean FB to a maximum of 14 days was +7199 mL in North America, +5641 mL in Europe, and +2211 mL in ANZ (p < 0.001). The median time to RRT initiation among patients allocated to the standard strategy was longest in Europe compared with North America and ANZ (p < 0.001; p < 0.001). Continuous RRT was the initial RRT modality in 60.8% of patients in North America and 56.8% of patients in Europe, compared with 96.4% of patients in ANZ (p < 0.001). After adjustment for predefined baseline characteristics, compared with North American and European patients, those in ANZ were more likely to survive to ICU (p < 0.001) and hospital discharge (p < 0.001) and to 90 days (for ANZ vs. Europe: risk difference [RD], -11.3%; 95% CI, -17.7% to -4.8%; p < 0.001 and for ANZ vs. North America: RD, -10.3%; 95% CI, -17.5% to -3.1%; p = 0.007).

CONCLUSIONS

Among STARRT-AKI trial centers, significant regional practice variation exists regarding FB, timing of initiation of RRT, and initial use of continuous RRT. After adjustment, such practice variation was associated with lower ICU and hospital stay and 90-day mortality among ANZ patients compared with other regions.

The effectiveness of a brief intervention for intensive care unit patients with hazardous alcohol use: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Screening for hazardous alcohol use and performing brief interventions (BIs) are recommended to reduce alcohol-related negative health consequences. We aimed to compare the effectiveness (defined as an at least 10% absolute difference) of BI with usual care in reducing alcohol intake in intensive care unit survivors with history of hazardous alcohol use.

METHODS

We used Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) score to assess history of alcohol use.

PATIENTS

Emergency admitted adult ICU patients in three Finnish university hospitals, with an AUDIT-C score > 5 (women), or > 6 (men). We randomized consenting eligible patients to receive a BI or treatment as usual (TAU).

INTERVENTION

BI was delivered by the time of ICU discharge or shortly thereafter in the hospital ward.

CONTROLS

Control patients received TAU.

OUTCOME

The primary outcome was self-reported alcohol consumption during the preceding week 6 and 12 months after randomization. Secondary outcomes were the change in AUDIT-C scores from baseline to 6 and 12 months, health-related quality of life, and mortality. The trial was terminated early due to slow recruitment during the pandemic.

RESULTS

We randomized 234 patients to receive BI (N = 117) or TAU (N = 117). At 6 months, the median alcohol intake in the BI and TAU groups were 6.5 g (interquartile range [IQR] 0-141) and 0 g (0-72), respectively (p = 0.544). At 12 months, it was 24 g (0-146) and 0 g (0-96) in the BI and TAU groups, respectively (p = 0.157). Median change in AUDIT-C from baseline to 6 months was - 1 (- 4 to 0) and 2 (- 6 to 0), (p = 0.144) in the BI and TAU groups, and to 12 months - 3 (- 5 to - 1) and - 4 (- 7 to - 1), respectively (p = 0.187). In total, 4% (n = 5) of patients in the BI group and 11% (n = 13) of patients in the TAU group were abstinent at 6 months, and 10% (n = 12) and 15% (n = 17), respectively, at 12 months. No between-groups difference in mortality emerged.

CONCLUSION

As underpowered, our study cannot reject or confirm the hypothesis that a single BI early after critical illness is effective in reducing the amount of alcohol consumed compared to TAU. However, a considerable number in both groups reduced their alcohol consumption.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03047577).