Renal replacement therapy in patients with influenza pneumonia related acute respiratory distress syndrome

Acute kidney injury (AKI) requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT) increases the mortality of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the outcomes and predictors of RRT in patients with influenza pneumonia-related ARDS. This retrospective cohort study includes patients from eight tertiary referral centers in Taiwan between January and March 2016, and all 282 patients with influenza pneumonia-related ARDS were enrolled. Thirty-four patients suffered from AKI requiring RRT, while 16 patients had underlying end stage renal disease (ESRD). The 30-and 60-day mortality rates were significantly higher in patients with AKI requiring RRT compared with those not requiring RRT (50.0% vs. 19.8%, p value < 0.001; 58.8% vs. 27.2%, p value = 0.001, respectively), but the patients with ESRD had no significant difference in mortality (12.5% vs. 19.8%, p value = 0.744; 31.3% vs. 27.2%, p value = 0.773, respectively). The predictors for AKI requiring RRT included underlying chronic liver disease and C-reactive protein. The mortality predictors for patients with AKI requiring RRT included the pneumonia severity index, tidal volume, and continuous renal replacement therapy. In this study, patients with influenza pneumonia-related ARDS with AKI requiring RRT had significantly higher mortality compared with other patients.