Nutritional and clinical factors associated with acute kidney injury development in critically ill children

Background Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) and is associated with poorer clinical outcomes. There is scarce data to support an association between nutritional status and nutrient delivery in critically ill pediatric patients. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the nutritional and clinical factors associated with the development of AKI during pediatric ICU stay. Methods This prospective study included critically ill pediatric patients aged < 15 years who were admitted to the medical and surgical pediatric ICU. Clinical, laboratory, nutritional status, nutritional therapy parameters, and AKI data were recorded. Adjusted logistic regression was applied and expressed as odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI). P -value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results We enrolled 108 patients with a median age of 9 months (interquartile range/IQR 2.4–62.5), and 43.5% developed AKI. Sepsis/septic shock (OR 8.00; 95% CI 2.06–32.51, p = 0.003), higher severity of illness (OR 1.89; 95% CI 1.24–2.90, p = 0.003), hypoalbuminemia (OR 4.11; 95% CI 1.61–10.46, p = 0.006), edema (OR 3.42, 95% CI 1.10–10.67, p = 0.034), fluid overload (OR 3.52, 95% CI 1.56–7.96, p = 0.003), need for mechanical ventilation (OR 3.62, 95% CI 1.45–9.04, p = 0.006) and adequate protein intake (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.63–1.00, p = 0.048) were associated with development of AKI. Conclusions Hypoalbuminemia, need for mechanical ventilation, fluid overload, severity of illness, sepsis/septic shock, and edema were risk factors for AKI in pediatric ICU. Furthermore, adequate protein intake is associated with AKI during pediatric ICU stay, making it important to implement nutritional assessment and nutritional therapy protocols for critically ill pediatric patients. Graphical abstract