A Study on the Effect of N-Acetylcysteine on Acute Kidney Injury due to Falciparum Malaria

Abstract

Introduction: Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) occurs most commonly in Plasmodium falciparum infection. Next to cerebral malaria and anaemia, AKI is the third most common complication of falciparum malaria. N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) has been shown to decrease serum creatinine without affecting the Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) by activating creatinine kinase and possibly by increasing tubular secretion. Aim: To study the effect of NAC on improvement and deterioration of falciparum malarial AKI. Materials and Methods: This prospective observational study was undertaken on 100 patients of falciparum malaria with AKI who were admitted to the Department of General Medicine ward, VSSIMSAR, Burla, Odisha from November 2014 to October 2016. Patients who were treated with NAC were considered as NAC group (n=50) and those who were not given were considered as Non N-Acetylcysteine (NNAC) group (n=50). In both the groups serum creatinine level and urine output were compared on day 1, day 3 and on day 5 of the study. Graph pad instat version-3 for windows was used for various statistical analyses. The numerical value was compared by Chi-square test. The comparison of mean values among the NAC and NNAC groups was performed by student t-test. The p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 63 males and 37 females were included in the study. Most of the cases were present in 15-34 years age group in both NAC and NNAC groups. The mean age of the patients for NAC group was 33.3±12.8 years and for NNAC group was 33.2±12.1 years with majority being males in both the groups. Out of 50 cases who were given NAC 600 mg twice daily for five days, 28 (56%) cases improved in AKI on day 5 as compared to day 1 of the study in NAC group. Similarly, out of 50 cases who were not given NAC, 26 (52%) cases improved in AKI on day 5 as compared to day 1 of the study in NNAC group. There was no difference in patients showing improvement in AKI after NAC therapy compared to patients with NNAC (χ2, 0.04; p=0.841). Conclusion: In NAC group, improvement of falciparum malarial AKI after five days was found to be little bit more as compared to the NNAC group, though it did not reach statistically significant difference.