Acute Kidney Injury in Children after Cardiac Surgery and Associated Risk Factors

Abstract

Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication after cardiac surgery, and its occurrence is associated with a worse prognosis and increased mortality. The term cardiac surgery-associated AKI (CSA-AKI) is used to describe the entity. CSA-AKI is independently associated with an increase in short-term morbidity, costs of treatment, and long-term mortality. In this study, we evaluated the frequency of CSA-AKI in an intensive care unit for children undergoing cardiac surgery to examine the prevalence of CSA-AKI and the risk factors contributing to it. Methods: This retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study evaluated 73 patients admitted to a single center for cardiac surgery in 2022. Inpatient files were reviewed for patients who underwent surgical procedures for congenital heart disease (CHD) during 2022. Results: AKI occurred in 35.6% of children undergoing cardiac surgery. The majority of cases were infants or had cyanotic heart disease (42.5% and 25.8%, respectively). Conclusions: Almost one-third of postcardiac surgery patients develop AKI. Monitoring for AKI postoperatively is especially necessary in infants and patients with cyanotic CHD.