Kidney Function Trajectory within Six Months after Acute Kidney Injury Inpatient Care and Subsequent Adverse Kidney Outcomes: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Timing and extent of kidney function recovery after an acute kidney injury (AKI) episode are associated with chronic kidney disease onset and progression. This study aimed to categorize AKI recovery patterns within 6 months after index hospital discharge and associate them with kidney outcomes. This was a retrospective cohort study of 234,867 patients, hospitalized between 2010 and 2017, and classified as AKI or no AKI. Kidney function recovery from pre-hospitalization baseline within 1.5× serum creatinine (SCr) were evaluated at 3 and 6 months after hospital discharge and categorized as persistent non-recovery (PNR: SCr not recovered at 3 and 6 months), non-recovery (NR: SCr not recovered at 6 months), and recovery (SCr recovered at 6 months). A composite of incident chronic kidney disease, kidney replacement therapy, and estimated glomerular filtration rate reduction >30% from baseline and <15 mL/min/1.73 m(2) was evaluated. Of 14,673 AKI surviving patients, 10.18% had PNR and 14.33% showed NR. Compared with no AKI, PNR and NR of AKI were associated with an increased risk of composite adverse outcomes (adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio (SHR) 4.55; 95% CI, 4.05–5.11; SHR, 3.54; 95% CI, 3.18–3.94, respectively). Patients with NR showed a greater risk of adverse outcomes than those with non-rapid recovery at 3 months after hospital discharge. The AKI recovery pattern within 6 months following inpatient care revealed an increasing continuum of risk of long-term adverse kidney outcomes. Risk stratification and a kidney function monitoring plan at discharge are needed to improve post-AKI care.