Clinical Characteristic and Risk Factors of Acute Kidney Injury among Dengue Viral Infections in Adults: A Retrospective Analysis

Dengue is a growing public health problem in India, and acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the least studied complications of dengue virus infection (DVI). This study was conducted to investigate the incidence, clinical characteristics, and risk factors for AKI in DVI. This was a retrospective study of patients with confirmed DVI presenting as dengue fever (DF) or dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS) at our center over a period of 2 years. A total of 620 subjects fulfilling inclusion criteria were studied. Patients were divided into two cohorts (90 patients with AKI and 530 patients without AKI) to determine independent predictors of AKI. Among 620 patients, 454 (73.22%) had classical DF, 141 (22.74%) patients had DHF, and 25 (4.03%) patients had DSS. AKI was present in 90 (16.36%) patients; approximately one-third (31, 34.45%) had AKIN stage 1, 33 (36.66%) patients had AKIN stage 2, and 26 (28.88%) had AKIN stage 3. Among those with AKI, 14 patients expired and all had DHF/DSS. On multivariate logistic regression, AKI was associated with male gender [odds ratio (OR): 2.9], DHF (OR: 7.9), rhabdomyolysis (OR: 8.2), multiple-organ dysfunction (OR: 18.2), hypertension (OR: 0.7), diabetes mellitus (OR: 4.8), delayed hospitalization (OR: 2.2), and use of nephrotoxic drugs (OR: 2.86). In all, 320 patients (51.61%) had hospital stay >3 days. We found that AKI was an independent predictor for longer duration of hospital stay (OR: 7.2, 95% confidence interval: 4.8–10.7). AKI in DVI is associated with significant morbidity, mortality and longer hospital stay.