Acute Kidney Injury in the ICU during Ganciclovir Treatment, an Observational Study

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between ganciclovir exposure with TDM and the development of AKI in ICU patients. This retrospective single-center observational cohort study included adult ICU patients treated with ganciclovir who had a minimum of one ganciclovir trough serum level. Patients receiving less than two days of treatment and patients with fewer than two measurements of serum creatinine, RIFLE scores, and/or renal SOFA scores were excluded. Acute kidney injury incidence was assessed with the difference between the final and first values of the renal SOFA score, RIFLE score, and serum creatinine. Nonparametric statistical tests were performed. In addition, the clinical relevance of these results was evaluated. A total of 64 patients were included with a median cumulative dose of 3150 mg. The mean difference in serum creatinine during ganciclovir treatment was reduced by 7.3 mu mol/L (p = 0.143). The RIFLE score decreased by 0.04 (p = 0.912), and the renal SOFA score was reduced by 0.07 (p = 0.551). This single-center observational cohort study showed that ICU patients using ganciclovir with TDM-guided dosing did not develop acute kidney injury as measured by serum creatinine, RIFLE score, and renal SOFA score.

Automated summary

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between ganciclovir exposure with therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and the development of acute kidney injury (AKI) in ICU patients. The study included adult ICU patients treated with ganciclovir and used nonparametric statistical tests to assess the incidence of AKI. The results showed that ICU patients using ganciclovir with TDM-guided dosing did not develop AKI as measured by serum creatinine, RIFLE score, and renal SOFA score.