Haematological malignancies and acute kidney injury requiring nephrology consultation: challenging the worst of the worst

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) often complicates the course of haematological malignancies (HMs) and confers a worse prognosis. The majority of these patients are managed by the attending physician, yet, a small group, mostly coincident with the worst presentation and outcomes, requires nephrology consultation, challenging the clinician with ethical issues regarding the decision to initiate or forgo renal support therapy. The purpose of this work is to identify the prognostic determinants for in-hospital mortality in this population. METHODS: A retrospective, observational chart review was undertaken at a single tertiary referral oncological centre. We reviewed the medical records of in-hospital patients with AKI and HM between 1 January 1995 and 31 December 2014 who met the criteria for RIFLE (Risk, Injury, and Failure; and Loss; and End-stage kidney disease) classification of I or higher and were followed by a nephrologist. RESULTS: Three hundred and forty-five patients were included in the study. Predictors of in-hospital death in patients with HM and AKI were septic shock [odds ratio (OR) 4.290 (95% CI 2.058–8.943)], invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) [OR 4.305 (95% CI 2.075–8.928)] and allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) [OR 2.232 (95% CI 1.260–3.953)]. The combination of each risk factor was used to estimate the probability of dying. Patients with all three risk factors had a risk of death of 86%. CONCLUSIONS: Septic shock, IMV and allogeneic SCT were identified as independent predictors of death in patients with HM and AKI, with only a small chance of survival if all three were present. Depending on the combination of risk factors, the indication for aggressive life support therapies, such as RST, might be questionable.