Kidney Res Clin Pract > Volume 41(6); 2022 > Article
Kim, Jang, Jung, Jung, Kim, Rhee, Seong, and Song: Hospital mortality and prognostic factors in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury and cancer undergoing continuous renal replacement therapy

Abstract

Background

Whether continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) should be applied to critically ill patients with both acute kidney injury (AKI) and cancer remains controversial because of poor expected outcomes. The present study determined prognostic factors for all-cause in-hospital mortality in patients with AKI and cancer undergoing CRRT.

Methods

We included 471 patients with AKI and cancer who underwent CRRT at the intensive care unit of a Korean tertiary hospital from 2013 to 2020, and classified them by malignancy type. The primary outcomes were 28-day all-cause mortality rate and prognostic factors for in-hospital mortality. The secondary outcome was renal replacement therapy (RRT) dependency at hospital discharge.

Results

The 28-day mortality rates were 58.8% and 82% in the solid and hematologic malignancy groups, respectively. Body mass index (BMI), presence of oliguria, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, and albumin level were common predictors of 28-day mortality in the solid and hematologic malignancy groups. A high heart rate and the presence of severe acidosis were prognostic factors only in the solid malignancy group. Among the survivors, the proportion with RRT dependency was 25.0% and 33.3% in the solid and hematologic malignancy groups, respectively.

Conclusion

The 28-day mortality rate of cancer patients with AKI undergoing CRRT was high in both the solid and hematologic malignancy groups. BMI, presence of oliguria, SOFA score, and albumin level were common predictors of 28-day mortality in the solid and hematologic malignancy groups, but a high heart rate and severe acidosis were prognostic factors only in the solid malignancy group.

Graphical abstract

Introduction

Because of remarkable advances in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, an increasing number of cancer patients are admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) [1]. A retrospective cohort study using validation of Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) 3 data from Korean ICUs reported that patients with cancer accounted for 34.8% of the total number of patients admitted [2]. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and severe complication in this population. AKI has various etiologies, including cancer itself (multiple myeloma, neoplastic urinary tract obstruction, and renal malignant infiltration), cancer treatment (nephrotoxic chemotherapy and tumor lysis syndrome), sepsis, antibiotics, and iodine contrast [3]. In recent studies, up to 54% of cancer patients who are admitted to an ICU have AKI, and some of them require renal replacement therapy (RRT) [4,5].
However, whether continuous RRT (CRRT) can be applied to critically ill patients with both AKI and cancer remains controversial because of the poor expected outcomes of the dual diagnosis. In-hospital mortality rates in cancer patients who require dialysis are reported to be between 51% and 90% [68]. Because of geographic variations in the diagnosis of different types of cancer, domestic epidemiologic data are essential to guide the management of patients with both AKI and cancer, but few studies have reported the clinical characteristics, prognoses, and prognostic factors of such Korean patients. Therefore, the present study investigated 28-day all-cause mortality, prognostic factors of mortality, and RRT dependency at hospital discharge among patients with AKI and a solid or hematologic malignancy who received CRRT.

Methods

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Pusan National University Hospital (No. 2102-022-100), which waived the requirement for informed patient consent because of the retrospective design of the study. All clinical investigations were conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Study design and subjects

This was a retrospective, single-center study. Data collected from the medical records of 2,466 patients who underwent CRRT from March 2013 to December 2020 in the ICU of a single-center university-affiliated hospital were reviewed (Fig. 1). All patients were aged >18 years. After excluding patients without malignancy and with end-stage kidney disease on dialysis, 471 were eligible for inclusion in this study. Patients were grouped according to type of malignancy as solid malignancy group (n = 298) and hematologic malignancy group (n = 173).

Clinical data collection and laboratory measurements

The following demographic and clinical data including age, sex, body mass index (BMI), cause of AKI, and comorbidities at the time of CRRT initiation were reviewed. The following clinical data were collected from the patients’ medical records: presence, type (solid or hematologic malignancy), site (breast, lung, digestive tract, prostate/bladder/kidney, and others), extent (localized to the primary tumor site or distant metastasis to other sites), status (diagnosis, induction, remission [complete or partial], stabilization, or progression) [9], and treatment history (adjuvant or palliative chemotherapy, radiotherapy, concurrent chemoradiation therapy, and steroids) of malignancy, as well as AKI etiology (sepsis, ischemia/shock, drugs, tumor lysis syndrome, urinary tract obstruction, and others, which included multiple myeloma, postoperation, and hepatorenal syndrome). Laboratory test results of complete blood counts and albumin, potassium, bicarbonate, serum blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, and phosphorus levels were collected. The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score was calculated to assess disease severity [10].

Continuous renal replacement therapy protocol

Among critically ill patients with AKI, those with sustained oliguria (urine output of <0.3 mL/kg/hr for ≥24 hours), uncontrolled volume overload (as evidenced by edema or pleural effusion despite maximal medical care), intractable hyperkalemia (serum potassium of >6.0 mmol/L despite maximal medical care), severe acidosis (arterial pH of <7.2 despite maximal medical care), or other conditions such as uremic encephalopathy received CRRT at the discretion of their physicians. All CRRT patients received continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration through the internal jugular or femoral vein. A Prismaflex (Gambro Lundia AB, Lund, Sweden) CRRT machine and AN 69 ST 100 filter set (1.0 m2; Gambro Lundia AB) were used. The initial effluent flow rates were between 35 and 40 mL/kg/hr, and additional adjustments were made according to the patient’s catabolic state or the presence of hyperkalemia and acidosis. The actual delivered dose was calculated as the mean effluent volume divided by the weight of the patient during the entire CRRT period. The downtime was calculated by adding all the times (hours) of CRRT interruption during the treatment. Patients’ body weights were measured continuously during the CRRT period. The blood flow rate was started at 150 mL/min and adjusted according to patients’ metabolic demands and hemodynamic instabilities. Heparin-free, heparin, and nafamostat mesylate were used to maintain the patency of the extracorporeal circuit while minimizing patient complications according to individual bleeding risk.

Outcomes

Patients were observed until the time of hospital discharge. The primary outcomes of the present study were 28-day all-cause mortality during the follow-up period and the prognostic factors for in-hospital mortality. The secondary outcome was RRT dependency at the time of hospital discharge. Outcomes were investigated separately in the solid and hematologic malignancy groups.

Statistical analysis

Continuous variables are expressed as mean ± standard deviation or median (interquartile range [IQR]), and categorical variables are expressed as number (percentage). Comparisons between the two groups were performed using Student t test or Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables and the chi-square test for categorical variables. Cox proportional hazards models and logistic regression models were used in univariable and multivariable analyses to determine the hazard ratios (HRs) of variables related to in-hospital mortality and RRT dependency. Variables were selected for multivariate analysis according to study aim and were adjusted. The results are reported as HR and 95% confidence interval (CI). We conducted a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to confirm the predictive accuracy of the prognostic factors for all-cause in-hospital mortality and calculated the area under the curve (AUC). All probabilities were two-tailed, and the level of statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05. All statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS version 22.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).

Results

Baseline clinical characteristics of patients

The baseline clinical characteristics of the patients are presented in Table 1 according to type of malignancy. Of the 471 patients, 298 (63.3%) had a solid malignancy, and 173 (36.7%) had a hematologic malignancy. In patients with a solid malignancy, the median age was 70 years (IQR, 62–77 years) and 212 (71.1%) were male. The extent of cancer was mostly localized (79.2%), and the digestive tract was the most common site of cancer (57.0%). About half of the patients were in remission (53.4%), and 52 (17.4%) patients had a history of chemotherapy before ICU admission, and the purpose of most of that chemotherapy was palliative (65.4%). The median SOFA score was 11 (IQR, 8–13), and the median 6-hour urine output before the start of CRRT was 95 mL (IQR, 20–255 mL). The most common reason for ICU admission was shock (41.9%), and the most common cause of AKI was sepsis (49.0%). Sustained oliguria was a major indication for CRRT (54.7%). In terms of initial laboratory findings at ICU admission, the median albumin level was 2.9 g/dL (IQR, 2.5–3.2 g/dL), and the median creatinine level was 2.53 mg/dL (IQR, 1.65–4.02 mg/dL).
In patients with hematologic malignancy, the median age was 65 years (IQR, 52–73 years) and 99 (57.2%) were male. Leukemia was the most common subtype (48.6%), and about one-third of patients were in remission (30.6%). Most of the patients had a history of chemotherapy before ICU admission (83.8%). The median SOFA score was 13 (IQR, 10–16), and the median 6-hour urine output before the start of CRRT was 160 mL (IQR, 50–380 mL). The most common reason for ICU admission was shock (41.0%), and the most common cause of AKI was sepsis (71.1%). Uncontrolled volume overload was a major indication for CRRT (59.0%). In terms of initial laboratory findings at ICU admission, the median albumin level was 2.7 g/dL (IQR, 2.3–3.2 g/dL), and the median creatinine level was 2.40 mg/dL (IQR, 1.76–3.49 mg/dL).

Primary outcome

Table 2 shows the all-cause mortality of the study patients according to type of malignancy. The median follow-up duration was 15 days (IQR, 5–32 days) in the solid malignancy group and 26 days (IQR, 14–45 days) in the hematologic malignancy group. In the solid malignancy group, 175 patients (58.7%) died during the 28-day hospitalization, as did 142 of the patients (82.1%) in the hematologic malignancy group. The baseline clinical characteristics of non-survivors and survivors are presented in Supplementary Table 1 and 2 (available online) for patients in the solid and hematologic malignancy groups, respectively.
The results of the Cox regression univariable and multivariable analyses for 28-day all-cause mortality according to the baseline clinical parameters in the solid and hematologic malignancy groups are presented in Table 3 and 4, respectively. In the solid malignancy group, BMI (HR, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.93–0.98]; p = 0.001), presence of oliguria (HR, 1.82 [95% CI, 1.24–2.66]; p = 0.002), severe acidosis (HR, 1.71 [95% CI, 1.18–2.45]; p = 0.004), heart rate (HR, 1.01 [95% CI, 1.01–1.02]; p = 0.02), SOFA score (HR, 1.09 [95% CI, 1.04–1.15]; p = 0.001), and albumin level (HR, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.55–0.99]; p = 0.04) were associated with 28-day all-cause mortality. In the hematologic malignancy group, BMI (HR, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.92–0.99]; p = 0.03), presence of oliguria (HR, 1.49 [95% CI, 1.03–2.16]; p = 0.04), SOFA score (HR, 1.11 [95% CI, 1.05–1.17]; p <0.001), and albumin level (HR, 0.69 [95% CI, 0.49–0.96]; p = 0.03) were associated with 28-day all-cause mortality. A high heart rate and presence of severe acidosis were specific prognostic factors for 28-day mortality only in patients with solid malignancy.
The ROC curves constructed using the prognostic factors predicting 28-day all-cause mortality are plotted in Fig. 2. The AUC of the variables in the solid malignancy group (BMI, oliguria, severe acidosis, heart rate, SOFA score, and albumin level) was 0.831 (p < 0.001), with a positive predictive value of 78.16% and a negative predictive value of 74.87%. The AUC of the variables in the hematologic malignancy group (BMI, oliguria, SOFA score, and albumin level) was 0.802 (p < 0.001), with a positive predictive value of 84.71% and a negative predictive value of 62.73%.

Secondary outcome

Table 2 shows the RRT dependency of the survivors according to type of malignancy. At the time of hospital discharge, 25.0% of the patients in the solid malignancy group and 33.3% of the patients in the hematologic malignancy group were RRT dependent. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis of prognostic factors for RRT dependency are shown in Supplementary Table 3 (available online). In the solid malignancy group, only underlying chronic kidney disease was related to RRT dependency (HR, 3.95 [95% CI, 1.69–9.24]; p = 0.001). In the hematologic malignancy group, the presence of oliguria as a CRRT indication (HR, 60.38 [95% CI, 1.02–3,576.82]; p = 0.049) and serum creatinine level at CRRT initiation (HR, 8.29 [95% CI, 1.07–64.23]; p = 0.04) were related to RRT dependency.

Discussion

This retrospective study investigated in-hospital mortality and prognostic factors for in-hospital mortality among critically ill Korean patients with both AKI and cancer who received CRRT. As expected, the 28-day all-cause mortality rates were high, 58.8% in the solid malignancy group and 82.0% in the hematologic malignancy group. Low BMI, presence of oliguria, high SOFA score, and low serum albumin level were common prognostic factors for 28-day mortality in patients with solid and hematologic malignancies, whereas a high heart rate and presence of severe acidosis were predictive only for patients with a solid malignancy. The proportion of patients who survived to hospital discharge with RRT dependency was 25.0% in the solid malignancy group and 33.3% in the hematologic malignancy group.
CRRT is an indispensable treatment modality for AKI in critically ill patients, and its overall use among patients undergoing acute RRT is increasing [11,12]. In recent studies, CRRT greatly improved the rates of all-cause mortality and survival [11,12]. Because of remarkable advances in both cancer treatment and ICU treatment, patients with cancer now account for 13.5% to 34.8% of all patients admitted to ICUs [2,1316]. Several studies have reported the outcomes of patients with both AKI and cancer who underwent RRT (Table 5) [7,1626]. The differences in the proportions of solid and hematologic malignancies and indications for RRT among those studies make it difficult to directly compare their results. The in-hospital mortality rate ranged from 50% to 86% in patients with solid malignancy and from 72% to 86% in patients with hematologic malignancy. In this study, the prognoses for those patients were comparable to those from other studies.
The reported prognostic factors for in-hospital mortality vary among studies and include number of organ failures, SOFA score or SAPS, and serum albumin level [5,16,18,19,21,23]. BMI reflects nutrition status, and both undernutrition (BMI of <18.5 kg/m2) and overweight/obesity (BMI of ≥25 kg/m2) carry a negative prognosis in cancer [27,28]. Because hypoalbuminemia is associated with several pathologic conditions, such as nutritional deficiency and chronic inflammation [29], a low BMI might reflect poor nutritional status and contribute as a prognostic factor for all-cause mortality in both malignancy groups.
In a systematic review of studies evaluating prognostic indices including SOFA, SAPS [30], and acute physiology and chronic health evaluations [31], all of the indices effectively predicted the outcomes of general medical or surgical ICU patients [32]. Among cancer patients, several studies, including this one, have confirmed that the indices that reflect a patient’s acute physiological status predict their prognosis. Consistent with the results of previous studies, cancer characteristics (cancer status, site of solid malignancy or subtype of hematologic malignancy, and treatment history) were not predictors of in-hospital mortality in the present study [9,20]. Although it was not investigated in this study, previous studies found that cancer variables influenced survival after hospital discharge, whereas acute physiologic changes were associated with in-hospital mortality [9,13,33]. The presence of oliguria was previously reported to be a prognostic variable in AKI patients admitted to the ICU [34], and our results are similar.
Patients with AKI commonly have metabolic acidosis, which is an independent predictor of unfavorable outcomes [3537]. However, in the results of this study, the presence of severe and intractable acidosis (arterial pH of <7.2 despite maximal medical care) was a prognostic factor for all-cause in-hospital mortality only in patients with a solid malignancy. Because of the retrospective design of the study, the maximal medical care used to correct acidosis was not unified among the patients. A high heart rate was also a prognostic factor of 28-day all-cause mortality only in the solid malignancy group. It is well known that the heart rate fluctuates during the day, and the presence of combined arrhythmia was not investigated. The mortality rate in patients with hematologic malignancy was extremely high, which might explain why heart rate and severe acidosis were not meaningful as prognostic factors, unlike solid malignancy. Those results from this study need to be validated in a randomized controlled study.
In our study, the proportion of patients discharged alive from the hospital with RRT dependency was 25.0% in the solid malignancy group and 33.3% in the hematologic malignancy group. That was slightly higher than the results from other studies, which reported a range between 14% and 24% [7,23,25], and did not differ from the rates in general ICU populations [38,39]. In general ICU populations treated with RRT for AKI, age, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and oliguria at the time of RRT initiation are associated with RRT dependency [39]. Our study showed similar results, though they differed according to type of malignancy.
This study has several strengths. Unlike previous studies, this study analyzed in-hospital mortality and prognostic factors by dividing cancer patients into solid and hematologic malignancy groups. Our finding of different prognostic factors between the malignancy groups indicates that patient prognosis should be predicted without merging those groups under a cancer diagnosis. Moreover, the ability of the combined prognostic factors to predict in-hospital mortality, as shown by the high AUCs, is notable and worth validating in future studies. This study included critically ill cancer patients with AKI undergoing CRRT from 2013 to 2020, so our data are more recent than the data used in previous studies. The results of this study thus reflect the effects of rapidly developing treatments for cancer and ICU patients, but the mortality and RRT dependency were similar to those in previous studies. This study also has several limitations. Although the analyses were performed with appropriate adjustments, the possibility of residual confounders cannot be excluded because of the retrospective nature of the study. Most of the patients were Korean, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other races. Additionally, data evaluation and comparison of medium- and long-term survival rates and renal function were not performed.
In conclusion, the 28-day mortality rate was ere high in patients with AKI undergoing CRRT, reaching 58.8% in the solid malignancy group and 82.0% in the hematologic malignancy group. BMI, presence of oliguria, SOFA score, and serum albumin level were common predictors of in-hospital mortality in patients with all malignancies. These results could be helpful in establishing a therapeutic plan for CRRT in critically ill patients with cancer and AKI because the mortality rates and prognostic factors differed according to type of malignancy.

Notes

Conflicts of interest

All authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Funding

This work was supported by a clinical research grant from Pusan National University Hospital in 2021.

Authors’ contributions

Conceptualization: EYS, SHS

Data curation: GSJ, KSJ, HR

Formal analysis: DWK

Investigation: HJJ, HJK

Project administration: SHS

Writing–Original Draft: DWK

Writing–Review & Editing: All authors

All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Supplementary Materials

Supplementary data are available at Kidney Research and Clinical Practice online (https://doi.org/10.23876/j.krcp.21.305).

Figure 1.

Flowchart of the patient selection process.

CRRT, continuous renal replacement therapy; ESKD, end-stage kidney disease.
j-krcp-21-305f1.jpg
Figure 2.

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for 28-day mortality according to type of malignancy.

(A) For solid malignancy patients, the ROC curve analysis considered body mass index (BMI), oliguria, severe acidosis, heart rate, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, and albumin level. The area under the curve (AUC) for 28-day mortality was 0.831 (p < 0.001). The positive predictive value was 78.16%, and the negative predictive value was 74.87%. (B) An ROC curve was constructed for hematologic malignancy patients using BMI, oliguria, SOFA score, and albumin level. The AUC for 28-day mortality was 0.802 (p < 0.001). The positive predictive value was 84.71%, and the negative predictive value was 62.73%.
j-krcp-21-305f2.jpg
j-krcp-21-305f3.jpg
Table 1.
Baseline clinical characteristics of study patients according to type of malignancy
Characteristic Solid malignancy Hematologic malignancy
No. of patients 298 173
Age (yr) 70 (62–77) 65 (52–73)
Male sex 212 (71.1) 99 (57.2)
Solid tumor, localized/distant 236/62 -
 Breast 16 (5.4) -
 Lung 35 (11.7) -
 Digestive tract 170 (57.0) -
 Prostate/bladder/kidney 35 (11.7) -
 Others 42 (14.1) -
Hematologic malignancy
 Leukemia - 84 (48.6)
 Lymphoma - 58 (33.5)
 Multiple myeloma - 23 (13.3)
 Myelodysplastic syndrome 7 (4.0)
Cancer status
 Diagnosis 37 (12.4) 15 (8.7)
 Induction 0 (0) 49 (28.3)
 Remission 159 (53.4) 53 (30.6)
 Stabilization 33 (11.1) 25 (14.5)
 Progression 63 (21.1) 31 (17.9)
Underlying disease, overlapped
 Hypertension 131 (44.0) 53 (30.6)
 Diabetes mellitus 127 (42.6) 45 (26.0)
 Cardiovascular disease 81 (27.2) 33 (19.1)
 Chronic pulmonary disease 19 (6.4) 3 (1.7)
 Liver disease 50 (16.8) 7 (4.0)
 Chronic kidney disease 63 (21.1) 14 (8.1)
Treatment history before ICU admission
 Chemotherapy 52 (17.4) 145 (83.8)
  Adjuvant 18 (34.6)
  Palliative 34 (65.4)
 Radiotherapy 9 (3.0) 1 (0.6)
 Concurrent chemoradiation therapy 27 (9.0) 0 (0)
 Steroid 0 (0) 5 (2.9)
 Bone marrow transplantation - 33 (19.1)
Admission (day) 15 (5–32) 26 (14–45)
ICU admission (day) 6 (3–14) 6 (3–12)
ICU admission to CRRT start (day) 0 (0–1) 1 (0–3)
Body mass index (kg/m2) 22.6 (19.8–25.3) 23.2 (20.9–26.1)
Mean arterial pressure (mmHg) 75 (67–89) 77 (68–85)
Heart rate (beat/min) 104 ± 24 115 ± 25
ICU risk factor
 Ventilator use 180 (60.4) 112 (64.7)
 Vasopressor use 212 (71.1) 123 (71.1)
 SOFA score 11 (8–13) 13 (10–16)
 6-Hr urine output before CRRT (mL) 95 (20–255) 160 (50–380)
Sepsis 110 (36.9) 100 (57.8)
Trauma 6 (2.0) 0 (0)
Surgery 71 (23.8) 3 (1.7)
Cause of ICU admission
 Acute kidney injury 117 (39.3) 54 (31.2)
 Respiratory failure 56 (18.8) 48 (27.7)
 Shock 125 (41.9) 71 (41.0)
Acute kidney injury etiology
 Sepsis 146 (49.0) 123 (71.1)
 Ischemia/shock 84 (28.2) 11 (6.4)
 Drugs 21 (7.0) 3 (1.7)
 Tumor lysis syndrome 2 (0.7) 22 (12.7)
 Urinary tract obstruction 13 (4.4) 0 (0)
 Others 32 (10.7) 14 (8.1)
CRRT indication, overlapped
 Sustained oliguria 163 (54.7) 83 (48.0)
 Uncontrolled volume overload 154 (51.7) 102 (59.0)
 Intractable hyperkalemia 25 (8.4) 9 (5.2)
 Severe acidosis 94 (31.5) 49 (28.3)
 Others 122 (40.9) 81 (46.8)
CRRT duration (hr) 37 (14–74) 47 (15–107)
Downtime (hr) 1 (0–5) 1 (0–4)
CRRT prescription
 Prescribed dose (mL/kg/hr) 38.1 (35.3–41.1) 38.5 (35.1–42.9)
 Delivered CRRT dose (mL/kg/hr) 33.2 (30.1–36.6) 34.7 (31.6–38.7)
Laboratory finding
 White blood cell (×103/μL) 12.8 (8.0–19.4) 3.9 (0.4–13.9)
 Hemoglobin (g/dL) 9.9 (8.5–11.5) 8.8 (7.9–10.0)
 RDW-CV (%) 15.5 (14.2–17.0) 16.3 (15.2–17.9)
 Platelet (×103/μL) 139 (80–209) 38 (20–61)
 Albumin (g/dL) 2.9 (2.5–3.2) 2.7 (2.3–3.2)
 Potassium (mmol/L) 5.1 (3.8–7.2) 4.3 (3.8–4.9)
 Arterial pH 7.29 (7.19–7.38) 7.30 (7.19–7.39)
 Bicarbonate (mEq/L) 15.8 (11.4–20.7) 18.1 (14.4–22.5)
 BUN (mg/dL) 52.2 (26.8–73.5) 58.6 (38.4–84.4)
 Creatinine (mg/dL) 2.53 (1.65–4.02) 2.40 (1.76–3.49)
 Uric acid (mg/dL) 7.5 (5.5–10.3) 6.9 (4.9–9.5)
 Corrected calcium (mg/dL)a 8.8 (8.4–9.4) 8.8 (8.0–9.4)
 Phosphorus (mg/dL) 5.1 (3.8–7.2) 4.8 (3.3–7.1)
 Lactic acid (mmol/L) 4.4 (1.9–9.0) 3.7 (2.1–8.4)
 BNP (pg/mL) 287 (195–717) 737 (279–1,796)
 Pro-BNP (pg/mL) 2,411 (655–8,680) 4,906 (1,155–17,139)

Data are expressed as number only, number (%), median (interquartile range), or mean ± standard deviation.

BNP, brain natriuretic peptide; BUN, blood urea nitrogen; CRRT, continuous renal replacement therapy; ICU, intensive care unit; RDW-CV, red cell distribution width-coefficient of variation; SOFA, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment.

a Corrected calcium (mg/dL) = measured total Ca (mg/dL) + 0.8 × [4 – measured serum albumin (g/dL)].

Table 2.
All-cause mortality and RRT dependency in patients with cancer according to type of malignancy
Outcome Solid malignancy (n = 298) Hematologic malignancy (n = 173)
Death 190 (63.8) 146 (84.4)
Intensive care unit death 183 (61.4) 146 (84.4)
28-Day death 175 (58.7) 142 (82.1)
RRT dependency among survivors 27/108 (25.0) 9/27 (33.3)

Data are expressed as number (%).

RRT, renal replacement therapy.

Table 3.
Prognostic factors for 28-day all-cause mortality in solid malignancy patients
Variable Model 1
Model 2
Model 3
HR (95% CI) p-value HR (95% CI) p-value HR (95% CI) p-value
Age 1.01 (0.99–1.02) 0.36
Male sex 1.03 (0.74–1.43) 0.86
BMI 0.96 (0.94–0.99) 0.00 0.97 (0.95–0.99) 0.01 0.96 (0.93–0.98) 0.001
Cancer status 0.22
 Diagnosis 1.23 (0.78–1.95) 0.38
 Remission Reference
 Stabilization 1.14 (0.70–1.86) 0.59
 Progression 1.49 (1.03–2.15) 0.03
Sepsis 1.64 (1.22–2.21) 0.001 1.37 (0.98–1.90) 0.06 1.19 (0.84–1.68) 0.33
Oliguria 2.36 (1.72–3.25) <0.001 2.45 (1.75–3.45) <0.001 1.82 (1.24–2.66) 0.002
Severe acidosis 2.23 (1.56–2.89) <0.001 1.78 (1.28–2.46) 0.001 1.71 (1.18–2.45) 0.004
Admission cause 0.01 0.44
 Acute kidney injury Reference
 Respiratory failure 1.93 (1.26–2.95) 0.003 1.84 (1.18–2.88) 0.007 1.29 (0.78–2.12) 0.32
 Shock 2.46 (1.72–3.51) <0.001 1.01 (1.01–1.02) 0.006 1.29 (0.86–1.94) 0.22
Heart rate 1.01 (1.01–1.02) <0.001 1.01 (1.01–1.02) 0.006 1.01 (1.01–1.02) 0.02
SOFA 1.18 (1.13–1.23) <0.001 1.09 (1.04–1.15) 0.001
White blood cell 1.01 (0.99–1.02) 0.22
Albumin 0.51 (0.39–0.65) <0.001 0.74 (0.55–0.99) 0.04
Uric acid 0.96 (0.92–0.99) 0.04 0.99 (0.94–1.04) 0.62
Corrected calciuma 1.14 (1.02–1.27) 0.03 1.04 (0.91–1.20) 0.56
PT INR 1.38 (1.21–1.58) <0.001 0.99 (0.81–1.22) 0.96

Model 1: unadjusted (n = 298). Model 2: BMI, sepsis, oliguria, severe acidosis, admission cause, heart rate (n = 292). Model 3: BMI, sepsis, oliguria, severe acidosis, admission cause, heart rate, SOFA, albumin, uric acid, corrected calcium, PT INR (n = 262).

BMI, body mass index; CI, confidence interval; HR, hazard ratio; PT INR, prothrombin time international normalized ratio; SOFA, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment.

a Corrected calcium (mg/dL) = measured total Ca (mg/dL) + 0.8 × [4 – measured serum albumin (g/dL)].

Table 4.
Prognostic factors for 28-day all-cause mortality in hematologic malignancy patients
Variable Model 1
Model 2
Model 3
HR (95% CI) p-value HR (95% CI) p-value HR (95% CI) p-value
Age 1.01 (0.99–1.02) 0.25
Male sex 0.96 (0.69–1.34) 0.81
BMI 0.97 (0.95–1.01) 0.05 0.97 (0.93–1.01) 0.08 0.96 (0.92–0.99) 0.03
Cancer status 0.48
 Diagnosis 1.06 (0.56–1.99) 0.86
 Induction 1.26 (0.83–1.91) 0.29
 Remission Reference
 Stabilization 0.77 (0.44–1.32) 0.77
 Progression 0.96 (0.59–1.58) 0.96
Sepsis 1.32 (0.94–1.84) 0.11 1.03 (0.67–1.58) 0.89 0.94 (0.60–1.46) 0.77
Oliguria 1.85 (1.33–2.59) <0.001 1.72 (1.21–2.45) 0.002 1.49 (1.03–2.16) 0.04
Severe acidosis 1.83 (1.28–2.62) 0.001 1.33 (0.91–1.94) 0.14 1.18 (0.80–1.75) 0.40
Admission cause 0.09 0.57
 Acute kidney injury Reference
 Respiratory failure 1.89 (1.21–2.96) 0.005 1.68 (1.05–2.69) 0.03 1.28 (0.76–2.17) 0.36
 Shock 2.01 (1.33–3.06) 0.001 1.44 (0.86-2.39) 0.17 1.04 (0.59–1.84) 0.89
Heart rate 1.01 (1.00–1.02) 0.007 1.01 (0.99–1.01) 0.11 1.01 (0.99–1.01) 0.14
SOFA 1.13 (1.08–1.18) <0.001 1.11 (1.05–1.17) <0.001
White blood cell 0.99 (0.98–1.00) 0.04 0.99 (0.98–1.01) 0.76
Albumin 0.58 (0.43–0.78) <0.001 0.69 (0.49–0.96) 0.03
Uric acid 0.96 (0.92–0.99) 0.03 0.99 (0.95–1.04) 0.87
Corrected calciuma 1.03 (0.92–1.16) 0.61
PT INR 1.17 (0.96–1.42) 0.13

Model 1: unadjusted (n = 173). Model 2: BMI, sepsis, oliguria, severe acidosis, admission cause, heart rate (n = 170). Model 3: BMI, sepsis, oliguria, severe acidosis, admission cause, heart rate, SOFA, WBC, albumin uric acid (n = 163).

BMI, body mass index; CI, confidence interval; HR, hazard ratio; PT INR, prothrombin time international normalized ratio; SOFA, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment.

a Corrected calcium (mg/dL) = measured total Ca (mg/dL) + 0.8 × [4 – measured serum albumin (g/dL)].

Table 5.
Summary of publications on RRT in critically ill patients with AKI and cancer
Study Year Country and date of study Study design Proportions of cancer subtypes No. of patients RRT Disease severity Mortality Prognostic factors for hospital mortality
Lanore et al. [21] 1991 France Retrospective single center Hemato: 100% 43 - SAPS Ⅱ ICU: 72% AKI secondary to sepsis, SAPS score, mechanical ventilation support
May 1983–November 1989 BMT: 11%  Survivors: 13.25 ± 4.86
 Non-survivors: 17.16 ± 4.37
 (p < 0.02)
Létourneau et al. [22] 2002 Canada Retrospective single center Hemato: 100% 14 IRRT APACHE Ⅱ - -
January 1994–December 1998 BMT: 100% CVVHDF  BMT + ARF: 30 ± 8
 BMT – ARF: 25 ± 7
 (p = 0.03)
Berghmans et al. [19] 2004 Belgium Retrospective single center Solid: 50% 32 CVVHDF APACHE Ⅱ ICU: 50% No. of organ failures
January 1997–December 2002 Hemato: 50%  Survivors: 25 Hospital: 53%
BMT: 28%  Non-survivors: 34
 (p = 0.006)
Benoit et al. [18] 2005 Belgium Retrospective single center Hemato: 100% 50 IRRT APACHE Ⅱ ICU: 79.6% -
January 1997–June 2002 BMT: 22.4% CRRT 30 (23–36) Hospital: 83.7%
6 Mo: 86%
Soares et al. [25] 2006 Brazil Prospective single center Solid: 75% 98 IRRT conventional APACHE Ⅱ Hospital: 64%–86% -
May 2000–December 2004 Hemato: 25% IRRT extended  22.3 (IQR: 7)
CRRT SAPS Ⅱ
 56.9 (IQR: 18.2)
SOFA
 9.6 (IQR: 4.1)
Darmon et al. [7] 2007 France Prospective single center Solid: 7% 94 IRRT SAPS Ⅱ ICU: 43.6% LOD score, late RRT (>24 hr after ICU admission)
January 2002–June 2005 Hemato: 78% CRRT  53 (40–75) Hospital: 51.1%
Others: 15% 6 Mo: 65.4%
Maccariello et al. [23] 2011 Brazil Prospective three centers Solid: 73% 118 IRRT daily conventional SAPS Ⅱ ICU: 70% No. of organ failures
December 2004–July 2008 Hemato: 27% IRRT daily extended  49.3 ± 12.7 Hospital: 78%
CRRT SOFA
 9 (7–11)
Park et al. [24] 2011 Korea Retrospective single center Hemato: 100% 94 CVVHDF SAPS Ⅱ ICU: 77% Modified SOFA score
January 2004–December 2007 BMT: 22% CVVH  81 (63–95)
SOFA
 16 (13–18)
Modified SOFA
 15 (11–17)
Salahudeen et al. [26] 2009 USA Retrospective single center Solid: 38% 199 C-SLED SOFA Day 30: 65% SOFA score, pH, mean blood pressure
January 2006–June 2007 Hemato: 62% 13.0 ± 4.0
BMT: 18%
Kim and Shin [16] 2015 Korea Retrospective single center Solid: 78.6% 42 CVVHDF APACHE Ⅱ Hospital: 69% Female, number of organ failures
January 2010–December 2011 Hemato: 19%  Data not shown
Others: 2.4%
Fischler et al. [20] 2016 Belgium Retrospective single center Solid: 66% 103 CVVHDF SAPS Ⅱ Hospital: 63% More than one organ failure, albumin level
January 2003–December 2012 Hemato: 34%  56 (28–99)
BMT: 17%
Abudayyeh et al. [17] 2020 United States Retrospective single center Solid (stage IV): 100% 176 SOFA (max) Hospital: 73.8% -
2005–2014  16.21 ± 4.48
This study Korea Retrospective single center Solid: 63% 471 CVVHDF SOFA Hospital (solid): 64% Solid: BMI, presence of oliguria or severe acidosis, heart rate, SOFA score, albumin level
March 2013–December 2020 Hemato: 37%  Solid: 11 (8–13) Hospital (Hemato): 84% Hemato: BMI, presence of oliguria, SOFA score, albumin level
 Hemato: 13 (10–16)

AKI, acute kidney injury; APACHE, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation; ARF, acute renal failure; BMI, body mass index; BMT, bone marrow transplantation; C-SLED, sustained low-efficiency dialysis in continuous mode; CRRT, continuous RRT; CVVH, continuous venovenous hemofiltration; CVVHDF, continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration; Hemato, hematologic; ICU, intensive care unit; IRRT, intermittent RRT; LOD, logistic organ dysfunction; RRT, renal replacement therapy; SAPS, Simplified Acute Physiology Score; SOFA, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment.

References

1. van Vliet M, Verburg IW, van den Boogaard M, et al. Trends in admission prevalence, illness severity and survival of haematological patients treated in Dutch intensive care units. Intensive Care Med 2014;40:1275–1284.
crossref pmid pdf
2. Na SJ, Ha TS, Koh Y, et al. Characteristics and clinical outcomes of critically ill cancer patients admitted to Korean intensive care units. Acute Crit Care 2018;33:121–129.
crossref pmid pmc pdf
3. Benoit DD, Hoste EA. Acute kidney injury in critically ill patients with cancer. Crit Care Clin 2010;26:151–179.
crossref pmid
4. Libório AB, Abreu KL, Silva GB Jr, et al. Predicting hospital mortality in critically ill cancer patients according to acute kidney injury severity. Oncology 2011;80:160–166.
crossref pmid
5. Salahudeen AK, Doshi SM, Pawar T, Nowshad G, Lahoti A, Shah P. Incidence rate, clinical correlates, and outcomes of AKI in patients admitted to a comprehensive cancer center. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2013;8:347–354.
crossref pmid
6. Lane PH, Mauer SM, Blazar BR, Ramsay NK, Kashtan CE. Outcome of dialysis for acute renal failure in pediatric bone marrow transplant patients. Bone Marrow Transplant 1994;13:613–617.
pmid
7. Darmon M, Thiery G, Ciroldi M, Porcher R, Schlemmer B, Azoulay É. Should dialysis be offered to cancer patients with acute kidney injury? Intensive Care Med 2007;33:765–772.
crossref pmid pdf
8. Azoulay E, Soares M, Darmon M, Benoit D, Pastores S, Afessa B. Intensive care of the cancer patient: recent achievements and remaining challenges. Ann Intensive Care 2011;1:5.
crossref pmid pmc pdf
9. Sculier JP, Paesmans M, Markiewicz E, Berghmans T. Scoring systems in cancer patients admitted for an acute complication in a medical intensive care unit. Crit Care Med 2000;28:2786–2792.
crossref pmid
10. Ferreira FL, Bota DP, Bross A, Mélot C, Vincent JL. Serial evaluation of the SOFA score to predict outcome in critically ill patients. JAMA 2001;286:1754–1758.
crossref pmid
11. Park S, Lee S, Jo HA, et al. Epidemiology of continuous renal replacement therapy in Korea: results from the National Health Insurance Service claims database from 2005 to 2016. Kidney Res Clin Pract 2018;37:119–129.
crossref pmid pmc
12. Wald R, McArthur E, Adhikari NK, et al. Changing incidence and outcomes following dialysis-requiring acute kidney injury among critically ill adults: a population-based cohort study. Am J Kidney Dis 2015;65:870–877.
crossref pmid
13. Soares M, Caruso P, Silva E, et al. Characteristics and outcomes of patients with cancer requiring admission to intensive care units: a prospective multicenter study. Crit Care Med 2010;38:9–15.
pmid
14. Staudinger T, Stoiser B, Müllner M, et al. Outcome and prognostic factors in critically ill cancer patients admitted to the intensive care unit. Crit Care Med 2000;28:1322–1328.
crossref pmid
15. Bos MM, de Keizer NF, Meynaar IA, Bakhshi-Raiez F, de Jonge E. Outcomes of cancer patients after unplanned admission to general intensive care units. Acta Oncol 2012;51:897–905.
crossref pmid
16. Kim Y, Shin H. Impact of cancer on survival of patients with AKI on CRRT. Br J Med Med Res 2015;5:758–766.
crossref
17. Abudayyeh A, Song J, Abdelrahim M, et al. Renal replacement therapy in patients with stage IV cancer admitted to the intensive care unit with acute kidney injury at a comprehensive cancer center was not associated with survival. Am J Hosp Palliat Care 2020;37:707–715.
crossref pmid pmc pdf
18. Benoit DD, Hoste EA, Depuydt PO, et al. Outcome in critically ill medical patients treated with renal replacement therapy for acute renal failure: comparison between patients with and those without haematological malignancies. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2005;20:552–558.
crossref pmid
19. Berghmans T, Meert AP, Markiewicz E, Sculier JP. Continuous venovenous haemofiltration in cancer patients with renal failure: a single-centre experience. Support Care Cancer 2004;12:306–311.
crossref pmid pdf
20. Fischler R, Meert AP, Sculier JP, Berghmans T. Continuous renal replacement therapy for acute renal failure in patients with cancer: a well-tolerated adjunct treatment. Front Med (Lausanne) 2016;3:33.
crossref pmid pmc
21. Lanore JJ, Brunet F, Pochard F, et al. Hemodialysis for acute renal failure in patients with hematologic malignancies. Crit Care Med 1991;19:346–351.
crossref pmid
22. Létourneau I, Dorval M, Bélanger R, Légaré M, Fortier L, Leblanc M. Acute renal failure in bone marrow transplant patients admitted to the intensive care unit. Nephron 2002;90:408–412.
crossref pmid pdf
23. Maccariello E, Valente C, Nogueira L, et al. Outcomes of cancer and non-cancer patients with acute kidney injury and need of renal replacement therapy admitted to general intensive care units. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2011;26:537–543.
crossref pmid
24. Park MR, Jeon K, Song JU, et al. Outcomes in critically ill patients with hematologic malignancies who received renal replacement therapy for acute kidney injury in an intensive care unit. J Crit Care 2011;26:107.
crossref
25. Soares M, Salluh JI, Carvalho MS, Darmon M, Rocco JR, Spector N. Prognosis of critically ill patients with cancer and acute renal dysfunction. J Clin Oncol 2006;24:4003–4010.
crossref pmid
26. Salahudeen AK, Kumar V, Madan N, et al. Sustained low efficiency dialysis in the continuous mode (C-SLED): dialysis efficacy, clinical outcomes, and survival predictors in critically ill cancer patients. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2009;4:1338–1346.
crossref pmid pmc
27. Gonzalez MC, Pastore CA, Orlandi SP, Heymsfield SB. Obesity paradox in cancer: new insights provided by body composition. Am J Clin Nutr 2014;99:999–1005.
crossref pmid
28. Ramos Chaves M, Boléo-Tomé C, Monteiro-Grillo I, Camilo M, Ravasco P. The diversity of nutritional status in cancer: new insights. Oncologist 2010;15:523–530.
crossref pmid pmc pdf
29. Moon JJ, Kim Y, Kim DK, Joo KW, Kim YS, Han SS. Association of hypoalbuminemia with short-term and long-term mortality in patients undergoing continuous renal replacement therapy. Kidney Res Clin Pract 2020;39:47–53.
crossref pmid pmc
30. Moreno RP, Metnitz PG, Almeida E, et al. SAPS 3: from evaluation of the patient to evaluation of the intensive care unit. Part 2: development of a prognostic model for hospital mortality at ICU admission. Intensive Care Med 2005;31:1345–1355.
crossref pmid pmc pdf
31. Knaus WA, Draper EA, Wagner DP, Zimmerman JE. APACHE II: a severity of disease classification system. Crit Care Med 1985;13:818–829.
crossref pmid
32. Minne L, Abu-Hanna A, de Jonge E. Evaluation of SOFA-based models for predicting mortality in the ICU: a systematic review. Crit Care 2008;12:R161.
crossref pmid pmc
33. Lecuyer L, Chevret S, Thiery G, Darmon M, Schlemmer B, Azoulay E. The ICU trial: a new admission policy for cancer patients requiring mechanical ventilation. Crit Care Med 2007;35:808–814.
crossref pmid
34. Brivet FG, Kleinknecht DJ, Loirat P, Landais PJ. Acute renal failure in intensive care units: causes, outcome, and prognostic factors of hospital mortality; a prospective, multicenter study. French Study Group on Acute Renal Failure. Crit Care Med 1996;24:192–198.
pmid
35. Bailey JL, Mitch WE. The implications of metabolic acidosis in intensive care unit patients. Nephrol Dial Transplant 1998;13:837–839.
crossref pmid
36. Clermont G, Acker CG, Angus DC, Sirio CA, Pinsky MR, Johnson JP. Renal failure in the ICU: comparison of the impact of acute renal failure and end-stage renal disease on ICU outcomes. Kidney Int 2002;62:986–996.
crossref pmid
37. Lee SW, Hong YS, Park DW, et al. Lactic acidosis not hyperlactatemia as a predictor of in hospital mortality in septic emergency patients. Emerg Med J 2008;25:659–665.
crossref pmid
38. Uchino S, Kellum JA, Bellomo R, et al. Acute renal failure in critically ill patients: a multinational, multicenter study. JAMA 2005;294:813–818.
crossref pmid
39. De Corte W, Dhondt A, Vanholder R, et al. Long-term outcome in ICU patients with acute kidney injury treated with renal replacement therapy: a prospective cohort study. Crit Care 2016;20:256.
crossref pmid pmc


ABOUT
BROWSE ARTICLES
EDITORIAL POLICY
FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Editorial Office
#301, (Miseung Bldg.) 23, Apgujenog-ro 30-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06022, Korea
Tel: +82-2-3486-8736    Fax: +82-2-3486-8737    E-mail: registry@ksn.or.kr                

Copyright © 2024 by The Korean Society of Nephrology.

Developed in M2PI

Close layer