Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) may be complicated by acute kidney injury, yet data on the use of dialysis and subsequent reversibility are sparse.
Methods: Using Danish nationwide registries, we identified patients with first-time IE from 2000 to 2017. Dialysis-naïve patients were grouped into: those with and those without dialysis during admission with IE. Continuation of dialysis was followed 1 year postdischarge. Multivariable adjusted Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to examine 1-year mortality for patients surviving IE according to use of dialysis.
Results: We included 7307 patients with IE; 416 patients (5.7%) initiated dialysis treatment during admission with IE and these were younger, had more comorbidities and more often underwent cardiac valve surgery compared with nondialysis patients (47.4% vs 20.9%). In patients with both cardiac valve surgery and dialysis treatment (n = 197), 153 (77.7%) initiated dialysis on or after the date of surgery. The in-hospital mortality was 40.4% and 19.0% for patients with and without dialysis, respectively (P < .0001). Of those who started dialysis and survived hospitalization, 21.6% continued dialysis treatment within 1 year after discharge. In multivariable adjusted analysis, dialysis during admission with IE was associated with an increased 1-year mortality from IE discharge, hazard ratio = 1.64 (95% confidence interval, 1.21-2.23).
Conclusion: In dialysis-naïve patients with IE, approximately 1 in 20 patients initiated dialysis treatment during admission with IE. Dialysis identified a high-risk group with an in-hospital mortality of 40% and an approximate 20% risk of continued dialysis. Those with dialysis during admission with IE showed worse long-term outcomes than those without.
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