Clinical Profile and Hospital Outcome of Children with Severe Acute Kidney Injury in a Developing Country

INTRODUCTION: In resource-constraint regions of the world, the spectrum of childhood diseases is changing, creating a need to clearly define the epidemiology of severe acute kidney injury (AKI). METHODS: Medical records of children aged between 1 month and 17 years with stage 3 AKI in a tertiary hospital were reviewed. RESULTS: Ninety-one children, comprising 63 (69.2%) males and 26 (28.6%) infants, were studied. Majority (75.8%) had stage 3 AKI at the point of hospitalization. Sepsis (41.8%), primary kidney diseases (PKD; 29.7%) and malaria (13.2%) were the most common causes of stage 3 AKI. Twenty-eight (30.8%) children died. Mortality was highest in those with sepsis, less than 5 years old and needing dialysis. CONCLUSION: Sepsis, PKD and malaria were the most common causes of severe AKI. A third of children with severe AKI died. Mortality was highest in those less than 5 years old, with sepsis and needing dialysis.