Statins Reduce Mortality Risk in Dialysis-Requiring AKI

SAN DIEGO—Statin use is independently associated with decreased mortality among patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) requiring dialysis, investigators reported at the American Society of Nephrology’s Kidney Week 2018 conference.

In a nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study that included 6091 hospitalized patients with dialysis-requiring AKI, investigators found a significantly smaller proportion of statin users than non-users died during a 1-year follow-up period (38.7% vs 49.1%). In adjusted analyses, statin use was independently associated with a significant 19% decreased risk of 1-year all-cause mortality—the primary study outcome—and 18% decreased risk of in-hospital all-cause mortality, Chia-Lin Wu, MD, of Changhua Christian Hospital in Changhua, Taiwan, and colleagues reported.

The investigators analysis data obtained from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan.

The 6091 patients included 1271 statin users and 4820 non-users, of whom 492 and 2365 died during the 1-year follow-up, respectively.

The survival benefit associated with statins was more pronounced among patients who took higher doses of statins. Statin users whose cumulative defined daily dose (cDDD) of statins was below 39 mg had a significant 13% decreased 1-year mortality risk compared with statin non-users, whereas statin users with a cDDD of 39 mg or higher had a significant 25% decreased risk.

Reference

Wu CL, Hsu CC, Tarng DC. The relationship between statin use and 1-year mortality after severe AKI. Presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s Kidney Week 2018 conference in San Diego, Oct. 23-28. Abstract FR-PO050.