The impact of diabetes on outcomes, length of stay and costs in acute kidney injury patients: a cross-sectional multicenter study in China

Abstract Background : With the increasing worldwide prevalence and disease burden of diabetic mellitus, data on the impact of diabetes on acute kidney injury (AKI) patients in China are limited.Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional and retrospective study was conducted in China, which included 2,223,230 hospitalized adult patients and covered 82% of the country’s population. Diabetes was identified according to blood glucose, hemoglobin A1c levels, physician diagnosis and drug use. In total, 7604 AKI patients were identified, and 1404 and 6200 cases were defined as diabetic and non-diabetic respectively. Clinical characteristics, outcome, in-hospital stay, and costs of AKI patients with and without diabetes were compared. Multivariable logistic and linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the association of diabetes with mortality and renal recovery in the admitted AKI patients.Results: In this survey, AKI patients with diabetes were older, male-dominated (61.9%), with more comorbidities, and higher serum creatinine levels. Compared to patients without diabetes, a significant upswing in all-cause in-hospital mortality, hospital stay, and costs were found in those with diabetes ( p <0.05). After adjusted for relevant covariables, diabetes was independently associated with failed renal recovery (OR=1.13, p =0.04), rather than all-cause in-hospital mortality (OR=1.09, p =0.39). Also, diabetic status was positively associated with length of stay ( β =0.04, p =0.04) and costs ( β =0.09, p <0.01) in hospital after adjusted for possible confounders. Conclusions: Failed renal recovery, rather than all-cause in-hospital mortality, is independently associated with diabetes in hospitalized AKI patients. Moreover, diabetes is significantly correlated with in-hospital stay and expenditures in AKI.