1997 to 2022 saw an increase in pediatric hospitalizations with acute kidney injury
· Medical Xpressby Elana Gotkine
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From 1997 to 2022, the absolute number and rate of pediatric hospitalizations complicated by acute kidney injury (AKI) and AKI requiring dialysis (AKI-D) increased, according to a study published online Sept. 22 in JAMA Network Open.
Alexander J. Kula, M.D., from the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, and colleagues examined national trends in pediatric hospitalizations with a diagnosis of AKI or AKI-D between 1997 and 2022 in a retrospective cohort study. The final analysis included 24,344,876 discharges.
Using weighted data, the researchers estimated that 253,138 hospitalizations were complicated by AKI overall. The weighted annual incidence of AKI and AKI-D increased from 6,318 and 981 cases/year, respectively, in 1997 to 63,923 and 2,075 cases/year, respectively, in 2022. AKI-D rates increased from 2.4 to 5.5 per 10,000. The mortality rate for hospitalizations with AKI decreased from 1,814 to 643 per 10,000 from 2003 to 2022.
"Pediatric health systems must be prepared to handle the short- and long-term impacts of pediatric AKI," the authors write. "Since pediatric AKI is associated with higher rates of hypertension and chronic kidney disease, there may be a sizable and growing population of children transitioning to adult care at risk for these outcomes."
Publication details
Alexander J. Kula et al, US Pediatric Hospitalizations Complicated by Acute Kidney Injury and Dialysis From 1997 to 2022, JAMA Network Open (2026). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.35547
Journal information: JAMA Network Open
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