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Transient kidney failure not so bad
CINCINNATI, (UPI) -- Heart patient kidney failure -- if transient -- may not be as harmful as once thought, U.S. researchers say.
Dr. Andrew Burger of the University of Cincinnati says heart patients had better outcomes if worsening kidney function was transient rather than persistent.
The study of acute heart patients found that 17.3 percent of those without worsening kidney function
died, 20.5 percent with transient kidney dysfunction died, but 46.1 percent with persistent kidney failure died.
"This study is the first of its kind to look at this relationship to help physicians assess outcomes and possibly determine the most efficient way to treat heart patients who develop kidney failure at any degree," Burger said in a statement.
Burger and colleagues studied 467 acute heart failure patients and gauged kidney function on days 2, 5, 14 and 30 of the study by checking levels of creatinine -- produced by the muscles and brain filtered out of the blood by the kidneys. High creatinine levels in 115 cases indicated worsening kidney function, of which 30 were labeled transient because at some point during the study period creatinine dropped significantly.
The findings are published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure.
CINCINNATI, (UPI) -- Heart patient kidney failure -- if transient -- may not be as harmful as once thought, U.S. researchers say.
Dr. Andrew Burger of the University of Cincinnati says heart patients had better outcomes if worsening kidney function was transient rather than persistent.
The study of acute heart patients found that 17.3 percent of those without worsening kidney function
died, 20.5 percent with transient kidney dysfunction died, but 46.1 percent with persistent kidney failure died.
"This study is the first of its kind to look at this relationship to help physicians assess outcomes and possibly determine the most efficient way to treat heart patients who develop kidney failure at any degree," Burger said in a statement.
Burger and colleagues studied 467 acute heart failure patients and gauged kidney function on days 2, 5, 14 and 30 of the study by checking levels of creatinine -- produced by the muscles and brain filtered out of the blood by the kidneys. High creatinine levels in 115 cases indicated worsening kidney function, of which 30 were labeled transient because at some point during the study period creatinine dropped significantly.
The findings are published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure.