Net ultrafiltration intensity and mortality in critically ill patients with fluid overload

BACKGROUND: Although net ultrafiltration (UF(NET)) is frequently used for treatment of fluid overload in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury, the optimal intensity of UF(NET) is unclear. Among critically ill patients with fluid overload receiving renal replacement therapy (RRT), we examined the association between UF(NET) intensity and risk-adjusted 1-year mortality. METHODS: We selected patients with fluid overload ≥ 5% of body weight prior to initiation of RRT from a large academic medical center ICU dataset. UF(NET) intensity was calculated as the net volume of fluid ultrafiltered per day from initiation of either continuous or intermittent RRT until the end of ICU stay adjusted for patient hospital admission body weight. We stratified UF(NET) as low (≤ 20 ml/kg/day), moderate (> 20 to ≤ 25 ml/kg/day) or high (> 25 ml/kg/day) intensity. We adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, race, surgery, baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate, oliguria, first RRT modality, pre-RRT fluid balance, duration of RRT, time to RRT initiation from ICU admission, APACHE III score, mechanical ventilation use, suspected sepsis, mean arterial pressure on day 1 of RRT, cumulative fluid balance during RRT and cumulative vasopressor dose during RRT. We fitted logistic regression for 1-year mortality, Gray’s survival model and propensity matching to account for indication bias. RESULTS: Of 1075 patients, the distribution of high, moderate and low-intensity UF(NET) groups was 40.4%, 15.2% and 44.2% and 1-year mortality was 59.4% vs 60.2% vs 69.7%, respectively (p = 0.003). Using logistic regression, high-intensity compared with low-intensity UF(NET) was associated with lower mortality (adjusted odds ratio 0.61, 95% CI 0.41–0.93, p = 0.02). Using Gray’s model, high UF(NET) was associated with decreased mortality up to 39 days after ICU admission (adjusted hazard ratio range 0.50–0.73). After combining low and moderate-intensity UF(NET) groups (n = 258) and propensity matching with the high-intensity group (n = 258), UF(NET) intensity > 25 ml/kg/day compared with ≤ 25 ml/kg/day was associated with lower mortality (57% vs 67.8%, p = 0.01). Findings were robust to several sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Among critically ill patients with ≥ 5% fluid overload and receiving RRT, UF(NET) intensity > 25 ml/kg/day compared with ≤ 20 ml/kg/day was associated with lower 1-year risk-adjusted mortality. Whether tolerating intensive UF(NET) is just a marker for recovery or a mediator requires further research. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13054-018-2163-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.