Acute kidney injury (AKI) occurring as a result of COVID-19 is more fatal among patients in intensive care when compared with those having preexisting kidney disease, suggests new research, adding that dialysis can only moderately affect survival.

The study, presented at virtual Euroanaesthesia, the annual meeting of the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC), included 129 patients from two intensive care units (ICUs) which served as COVID-19 centers in Vienna, Austria.

The patients were divided into 3 groups - Group 1 (n=33) patients had a history of kidney disease; Group 2 (n=26) had patients with healthy kidney function initially but developed AKI on day 5 of ICU stay; Group 3 (n=70) had patients with normal kidney function both before admission to the ICU and at day 5 of ICU stay. Thirty two patients needed dialysis. In group 1, 55% of the patients survived compared with 46% of the patients in group 2 who developed AKI due to COVID-19. In group 3, 83% of the patients survived… (Medscape)