Incidence of pediatric acute kidney injury in hospitalized patients.

Pediatric acute kidney injury (pAKI) is a common complication associated with high mortality in children. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) and mortality in hospitalized (critically ill and non-critically ill) patients. This was a retrospective study conducted during the period of June 1, 2013, to May 31, 2014, at the Postgraduate Department of Pediatrics, G. B. Pant Hospital, an Associated Hospital of Government Medical College, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. All patients between the ages of one month and 18 years were included in the study, who had AKI. In general, out of 23,794 patients, 197 developed AKI (0.8%). On subgroup analysis, 2460 were critically ill and had Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission among whom 99 developed AKI (4%), whereas 21,334 had general pediatric ward admissions and 98 developed AKI (0.5%). Infantile age group was the most commonly 91 (46.2%) affected. The common causes of AKI were renal in 73 (37%), neurologic in 38 (19%), septicemia in 35 (18%), and inborn errors of metabolism in 30 (15.2%). Out of 197 pAKI patients, 42 (21.3%) died and all of them were critically sick (ICU admissions). The incidence of pAKI in general was 0.8%, whereas it was 4% in critically ill children and 0.5% in general ward admissions implying an eight-fold increased risk of pAKI in critically ill patients.