The Impact of Dialysis-requiring Acute Kidney Injury on Long-term Prognosis of Patients Requiring Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation: Nationwide Population-based Study

Background: Prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) is increasingly common worldwide, consuming enormous healthcare resources. Factors that modify PMV outcome are still obscure.

Methods: We selected patients without preceding mechanical ventilation within the one past year and who developed PMV during index admission in Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) system during 1998-2007 for comparison of mortality and resource use. They were divided into three groups: (1) patients with end-stage renal diseases (ESRD) before the index admission for PMV onset; (2) patients with dialysis-requiring acute kidney injury (AKI-dialysis) during the hospitalization course; and (3) patients without AKI or with non dialysis-requiring AKI during the hospitalization course (non-AKI). We used a random-effects logistic regression model to identify factors associated with mortality.

Results: Compared with the other two groups, patients with AKI-dialysis had significantly longer mechanical ventilation, more frequent use of vasopressors, longer intensive care unit/hospital stay and higher inpatient expenditures during the index admission. Relative to non-AKI patients, patients with AKI-dialysis had an elevated mortality hazard; the adjusted relative risk ratios were 1.51 (95% confidence interval [CI]:1.46-1.56), 1.27 (95% CI: 1.23-1.32), and 1.10 (95% CI: 1.08-1.12) for mortality rates at discharge, 3 months, and 4 years after PMV, respectively. Patients with AKI-dialysis also consumed significantly higher total in-patient expenditure than the other two patient groups (p<0.001).

Conclusions: Among patients that need PMV care during an admission, the presence of de novo AKI requiring dialysis significantly increased short and long term mortality, and demand for health care resources.