15 May 2020 - - Doctors and researchers from across Northwell Health's New York-based hospitals saw an "alarming number" of hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients develop acute kidney injury during the height of the pandemic rates higher than reported from China, according to new data published in Kidney International, the official journal of the International Society of Nephrology.

In the largest study of its kind to date, a team of investigators at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research analyzed the electronic health records of 5,449 hospitalized COVID-19 patients between March 1, 2020, and April 5, 2020 and determined that 36.6 % (1,993 patients) developed AKI.

Among patients with AKI at the study's conclusion, 39.1 % (780 out of 1,993) were still hospitalized.

AKI is a sudden episode of kidney failure or damage, preventing waste from being filtered within the body and can often lead to death.

Most cases developed early in a patient's hospitalisation, with 37.3% either arriving with AKI or developing it within 24 hours.

The number of patients requiring dialytic support at some point during their hospitalization was 285 or 5.2% of all patients, representing 14.3% of those with AKI. The link between respiratory failure and AKI was substantial.

Among patients who required mechanical ventilation, 89.9% (1,068/1,190) developed AKI, compared to 21.7% (925/4259) in non-ventilated patients.

Among patients who required mechanical ventilation, 23.2% (276 of 1,190) developed AKI and required dialysis therapy, compared to 0.2% (9 of 4,259) in non-ventilated patients.

In comparison to data from China, respiratory disease severity appeared to be less in China, as 13.4% of the Chinese patients required mechanical ventilation compared to 21.8% of the patients in the US study.

The study also revealed risk factors for developing AKI, including age, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and need for ventilation and vasopressor medications. Researchers also found those of the Black race were at increased risk for developing AKI.

Future studies will look to better understand the causes of AKI and patient outcomes.

The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research is the research arm of Northwell Health, the largest health care provider and private employer in New York State.

Home to 50 research labs, 2,500 clinical research studies and 5,000 researchers and staff, the Feinstein Institutes raises the standard of medical innovation through its five institutes of behavioral science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health innovations and outcomes, and molecular medicine.