Weaning from dialysis after acute kidney injury in chronically critically ill

This study describes the course of renal recovery after dialysis in aspecific population of chronically critically ill patients with ahistory of prolonged and complicated treatment in an intensive care unit. This study shows that, in aspecialized center, patients can be successfully weaned from dialysis even months after acute kidney injury (AKI). Of the patients who could be recompensated (33%), approximately 20% achieved renal recovery more than 3months after the start of dialysis. The duration of renal recovery after AKI did not differ between those patients with pre-existing chronic kidney disease (CKD) and those without. The reason for dialysis treatment such as sepsis, surgery, resuscitation, as well as the risk factors (e.g., diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, arteriosclerosis) did not reveal adifference in weaning in ahazard analysis. As a potential risk factor, only age significantly influenced weaning from dialysis in the multivariate hazard model.