A survey published in Kidney360 has revealed that acute kidney injury (AKI) adversely affects the health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) of patients who recover from the kidney injury.¹

The researchers surveyed 124 patients, who were members of the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) and had recovered from AKI to find out its physical, social and emotional impact and also differences in impact by age and gender, if any. The anonymous survey was conducted online in September 2020. The survey also investigated the patients’ perceptions about their interactions and communication with healthcare providers about their condition.

A large number of patients (84%) reported that the AKI had a substantial effect “very/extremely impactful” on their physical and emotional health. Patients reported weakness and feeling tired, not being able to carry out daily activities and overall, not feeling well physically. They also reported feelings of anxiety, stress, difficulty in falling asleep and not feeling good emotionally.

About 67% of patients were worried about the impact of AKI on their family, while 57% were “very/extremely concerned” about the effects of AKI on work.

Compared to younger and older patients, those aged 21–65 years reported a high overall impact of AKI (63% vs 75% vs 90%, respectively) as well as high impact on their work (38% vs 10% vs 74%, respectively) and family (50% vs 46% vs 78%, respectively). Women were more likely to report adverse physical and emotional impact of AKI.

A significant and concerning finding was that only 52% rated the medical team communication as very good or extremely good.

This survey has explored the wide-ranging effects of AKI on the patient and showed that the effects of AKI go beyond physical health. It also suggests the need for efforts to improve the HRQoL of these patients. Most importantly, the findings underscore the need for physicians to proactively educate their patients about AKI and provide necessary information about follow-up care particularly since these patients are at high risk of developing chronic kidney disease, heart disease, anemia, bone disease etc.

Reference

1. Switzer GE, et al. Patient-reported experiences after acute kidney injury across multiple health-related quality-of-life domains. Kidney360. December 2021, 10.34067/KID.0002782021;DOI: https://doi.org/10.34067/KID.0002782021