Managing Acute Kidney Injury in COVID-19 Patients

APRIL 25, 2020 — Throughout a current webinar by the American Society of Nephrology, Anitha Vijayan, MD, professor of medication within the Division of Nephrology at Washington College College of Medication in St. Louis gave a presentation on the Sensible Facets of RRT in Hospitalized Sufferers with AKI or ESKD. We requested her to share a few of her insights with Medscape.

This interview was edited for size and readability.

What are the indications for renal substitute remedy (RRT) in sufferers with COVID-19?

Anitha Vijayan, MD: The indications for RRT in sufferers with acute kidney damage (AKI) of any etiology are hyperkalemia metabolic acidosis quantity overload, uremic manifestations akin to uremic encephalopathy, or pericarditis. We additionally take into account the severity of oliguria.

Are there any indications particular to COVID-19 or are they typical of ICU sufferers with AKI?

COVID-19 sufferers have a really excessive probability of respiratory failure and typically it is troublesome to differentiate whether or not that is from quantity overload or from pneumonia. Respiratory failure often is the driving drive for initiation of renal substitute remedy in these sufferers, and possibly in that respect they are typically a little bit totally different.

Do you suggest that medical administration methods be exhausted earlier than utilizing RRT?

If the one purpose to provoke RRT is respiratory failure and fluid overload, we suggest a trial of loop diuretics first. In fact, diuretics shouldn’t be used should you suspect the affected person is already hypovolemic, or in the event that they produce other indications for RRT akin to uremic manifestation or extreme hyperkalemia, and many others.

Are you delaying RRT longer due to the scarcity of machines or any medical causes?

I might say primarily for managing sources. As a result of if we begin substitute remedy very early for all these sufferers, we are going to run out of machines and different provides.

Is steady renal substitute remedy (CRRT) the popular modality?

CRRT is the popular modality for any critically sick affected person with AKI, particularly those that have hemodynamic instability. That is the case, whether or not or not they’ve COVID-19.

Is there any choice for steady convective clearance hemodialysis (CVVH) over steady veno-venous hemodialysis (CVVHD)?

No. Convective clearance has not been proven to be superior to diffusive clearance, so far as affected person outcomes are involved. As I mentioned within the webinar, you need to use no matter modality is offered at your establishment.

What about resource-wise by way of preserving dialysate?

Generally the identical prepackaged options are used both as substitute fluid (CVVH) or dialysate (CVVHD). Sure machines just like the Tablo can generate their very own dialysate, and might solely be used for CVVHD, and never CVVH. However resource-wise, there’s no purpose to desire one modality over the opposite. All of it is dependent upon no matter machines can be found at your establishment.

One in all your suggestions is to lower stream charges to maximise sources. Are you able to elaborate?

Usually for CRRT, we use an effluent stream fee of about 20-25 mL/kg/hr. That suggestion is predicated on the ATN and RENAL research, printed in 2008 in 2009, respectively, which in contrast decrease stream charges to larger stream charges, and didn’t present any distinction so far as outcomes are involved. Nonetheless, no person has in contrast 20-25 mL/kg/hr to a fair decrease stream fee akin to 15 mL/kg/hr so, 20-25 mL ought to function the usual.

What I used to be recommending is that when sufferers obtain metabolic management (secure electrolytes, acidosis underneath management), then you possibly can take into account reducing the stream charges to about 15 mL/kg/hr to preserve sources.

Does extended intermittent RRT assist you to deal with extra sufferers with one machine?

We use larger stream charges for a shorter period with PIRRT. We do CRRT 24 hours a day, however with PIRRT you possibly can probably use the machine for 2 (10 hour therapies) to 3 sufferers (6 hour therapies) whereas permitting time to scrub and disinfect the machine in between. To make sure they’re reaching an inexpensive quantity of clearance, we improve the stream fee considerably to approximate a complete of 20-25 mL/kg/hr for 24 hours. Basically, you calculate the fluid requirement for 24 hours per day and divide that by the variety of hours you are really going to do.

You are able to do PIRRT on the identical machine as CRRT and it permits one machine for use for 2 or three sufferers nevertheless it nonetheless requires the identical quantity of fluids.

What about anticoagulation throughout RRT?

Anticoagulation is essential in COVID-19, not solely in my expertise but additionally from discussing with others throughout the nation. Each single particular person instructed me that anticoagulation is crucial in sufferers on RRT, in any other case the machines are clotting continuously and we’re losing filters and naturally blood.

What is the Wuhan coronavirus?
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Systemic anticoagulation with heparin labored for us, however others have mentioned that their sufferers had been clotting regardless of heparin, and so they’ve used regional citrate anticoagulation or direct thrombin inhibitors akin to argatroban.

In case your middle isn’t utilizing citrate already, I do not suggest beginning it now as a result of citrate is a sophisticated protocol, even in the most effective palms. In my view, implementing it rapidly is usually a setup for errors and affected person issues of safety.

What about vascular entry?

It is essential that the fitting size of the catheter be chosen for the fitting vein, and our most popular order for vascular entry is the fitting inside jugular (IJ) vein, the femoral veins, after which the left IJ.

One in all your suggestions was a cheat sheet for individuals who won’t be used to inserting these catheters, proper?

Sure, we made a cheat sheet that we mentioned with our crucial care colleagues throughout our every day rounds and made positive it was obtainable for them within the ICU.

Do you suggest multidisciplinary rounds?

Sure, the multidisciplinary rounds have been extraordinarily helpful for collaborating with the crucial care physicians taking good care of these sufferers. We do them each morning, principally with the crucial care physicians from pulmonary or anesthesia.

What would you advise hospitals making ready for a surge — ought to they be buying/borrowing machines or stockpiling dialysate?

No one would suggest stockpiling dialysate as a result of which means there’s much less availability for folk who actually need it. I feel the most effective strategy is to speak to your hospital management to get projections of affected person volumes in your establishment, and attempt to put together for that.

We had been blindsided by the quantity of acute kidney damage and the necessity for RRT as a result of we didn’t get lots of early reviews about this from different nations. Initially all of the speak was about ventilators. The incidence within the US of critically sick sufferers with AKI needing RRT seems to be about 25%. You may put together for that quantity at your establishment.

Ought to facilities be cross-training different specialties on tips on how to arrange and monitor RRT gear?

I feel cross-training is essential. We’re cross-training nurses in monitoring dialysis sufferers in order that the dialysis nurses can care for extra sufferers. At our establishment, we deliberate for that forward of time, and addressed it in our planning paperwork.

You additionally confirmed some MacGyvering tips for the machines.

I tweeted two pictures. One was with a affected person who occurred to be on ECMO [extracorporeal membrane oxygenation], and the tubing of the ECMO is lengthy sufficient to maintain the Prisma-Flex machine outdoors the door.

The Prisma-Flex has an effluent bag that must be modified each 2 hours. One in all our nurses took that bag and hung it up on an IV pole and let it drain by gravity again into the bathroom contained in the room as a substitute of him having to face by the sink and

ECMO and CRRT in #COVID19. ECMO within the room. Prismaflex outdoors the room – crucial to cut back RN publicity! Further innovation (pink traces) Effluent bag eliminated when full, held on IV pole with rigged tubing to empty into rest room inside room. Want #PPE to deal with effluent! pic.twitter.com/L5qgwA4vhk

— Anitha Vijayan (@VijayanMD) April 1, 2020

I might warning that affected person security all the time has to return first. When blood tubing extensions are added, sufferers are in danger for hypothermia and blood loss. Affected person security all the time trumps any of those maneuvers.

Is there any concern about renal toxicity of the therapies for COVID-19?

I am not conscious of direct toxicity from these drugs presently, however, like most drugs, each time sufferers have acute kidney damage, the doses need to be adjusted to stop different kinds of toxicity from remedy accumulation.

A few of these sufferers will nonetheless want dialysis after discharge. Any issues about that?

That is a vital level which we’re seeing in New York. Even earlier than COVID-19, I all the time instructed my critically sick sufferers and their households that the kidneys are the final organ to return again.

The necessity for dialysis all the time lasts longer than the necessity for a ventilator. These sufferers require dialysis after they go away the ICU, and typically after they go away the hospital. Transitioning them to outpatient hemodialysis amenities has been troublesome in some conditions, until they’re confirmed to be COVID detrimental. Amenities will settle for them for therapy offered they’ve repeat testing to show that they are detrimental for COVID.

Does that requirement imply you must maintain them in hospital longer than you’ll usually?

Sure. We might need to maintain them longer to ensure that we have now a facility who will settle for them.

One other nephrologist prompt that kidney damage could also be one of many prime long run sequelae from COVID-19. Would you agree?

Presumably. Sufferers that suffer from AKI have long-term penalties, particularly if they’ve extreme AKI. So they could be left with power kidney disease. They’ll undoubtedly want long-term nephrology care and shut follow-up.

What about anyone who already has some renal dysfunction pre-COVID-19?

Any time you’ve got underlying CKD and you’ve got AKI on prime of that, your prognosis is worse than should you had simply AKI.

The opposite inhabitants that we did not focus on a lot is the end-stage kidney disease inhabitants — these sufferers are already susceptible to infections, as they are typically older, and to have a weaker immune system. They’re additionally extra uncovered as a result of they’re sitting in a facility with different sufferers 3 times per week for dialysis.

We have had sufferers with end-stage kidney illness contract COVID-19. So far as their outcomes, I do not assume we have now sufficient information to say how they fare in comparison with sufferers with COVID and acute kidney damage.

Is there anything you want to inform our readers?

I might say that managing kidney illness in COVID sufferers has been extraordinarily difficult for everybody throughout the US partly as a result of we weren’t ready. It’s considerably stunning to me that we did not hear extra in regards to the nephrology facets from different nations who had been hit earlier than the US. And we nonetheless have to study extra in regards to the actual pathophysiology of the AKI from COVID-19 and its long-term sequelae.

Anitha Vijayan MD is on the Scientific Advisory Board for NxStage Fresenius Medical Care.

Tricia Ward is an government editor at Medscape who primarily covers cardiology and nephrology. She is predicated in New York Metropolis and you may comply with her on Twitter @_triciaward

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