Association between Premorbid Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System Blockade and the Risk of Acute Kidney Injury in Critically Ill Patients

Ruey Hsing Chou, Shang Feng Yang, Cheng Hsueh Wu, Yi Lin Tsai, Ya Wen Lu, Jiun Yu Guo, Po Hsun Huang*, Shing Jong Lin

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEis) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are commonly used for hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. However, whether their use increases the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) and should be discontinued during acute illness remains controversial. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 952 dialysis-free patients who were admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) between 2015 and 2017, including 476 premorbid long-term (> 1 month) ACEi/ARB users. Propensity score matching was performed to adjust for age, gender, comorbidities, and disease severity. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of AKI during hospitalization, and the secondary endpoint was mortality or dialysis within 1 year. Results: Compared with non-users, the ACEi/ARB users were not associated with an increased AKI risk during hospitalization [66.8% vs. 70.4%; hazard ratio (HR): 1.13, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.97-1.32, p = 0.126]. However, the ACEi/ARB users with sepsis (HR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.04-1.60, p = 0.021) or hypotension (HR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.02-1.14, p = 0.034) were found to have an increased AKI risk in subgroup analysis. Nevertheless, compared with the non-users, the ACEi/ARB users were associated with a lower incidence of mortality or dialysis within 1 year (log-rank p = 0.011). Conclusion: Premorbid ACEi/ARB usage did not increase the incidence of AKI, and was associated with a lower 1-year mortality and dialysis rate in patients admitted to ICUs. Regarding the results of subgroup analysis, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockade may still be safe and beneficial in the absence of sepsis or circulation failure. Further large-scale studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)709-719
Number of pages11
JournalActa Cardiologica Sinica
Volume39
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2023

Keywords

  • Acute kidney injury
  • Angiotensin receptor blocker
  • Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor
  • Intensive care unit
  • Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system

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