Complete Recovery of Renal Function among Obstetric Patients with Acute Kidney Injury at a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Acute kidney injury is a rare complication of pregnancy and is associated with high maternal morbidity and mortality. Obstetric factors associated with it are preeclampsia/eclampsia, sepsis, hemorrhage and dehydration. Here, we aim to find out the prevalence of complete recovery of renal function among obstetric patients with acute kidney injury. METHODS: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in a tertiary care hospital from 1st July 2020 to 30th June 2021 where obstetric patients who had developed acute kidney injury were included and followed till 6 weeks of diagnosis. Ethical approval was obtained from Institutional Review Committee of Nobel Medical College and Teaching Hospital (Reference number 437/2020). The convenience sampling method was used. Data entry and analysis were done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. RESULTS: Out of total 66 obstetric patients with acute kidney injury, 45 (68.2%) (57-79.3 at 95% Confidence Interval) had complete recovery of renal function. Rate of renal function recovery in Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3 acute kidney injury were 19 (90%), 19 (86%) and 7 (58%) respectively. The most common causes of acute kidney injury were Preeclampsia/eclampsia 18 (40%), sepsis 23 (28.8%) and hemorrhage 10 (22.2%). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of complete recovery in obstetric patients with acute kidney injury was similar to findings from other studies done in similar settings.