Urinary [TIMP-2].[IGFBP7]-guided randomized controlled intervention trial to prevent acute kidney injury in the emergency department

Background Early detection and prevention of acute kidney injury (AKI) is important to reduce morbidity and mortality. Discovery of early-detection biomarkers has enabled early preventive approaches. There are no data on early biomarker-guided intervention with nephrological consultation in emergency departments (EDs). Methods In this prospective randomized controlled intervention trial, patients at high risk for AKI were screened with urinary [TIMP-2].[IGFBP7] in the ED of Robert-Bosch-Hospital (Stuttgart, Germany). We screened 257 eligible patients of whom 100 met the inclusion criteria, with urinary [TIMP-2].[IGFBP7]>0.3, and were included. The intervention group received immediate one-time nephrological consultation after randomization, implementing Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) 2012 recommendations on AKI. The primary outcome was the incidence of moderate to severe AKI within the first day after admission. Secondary outcomes were AKI occurrence within 3 days after admission, need for renal replacement therapy (RRT), length of hospital stay and death. Results The primary outcome did not differ significantly (P=0.9) between the groups, neither within the first day nor within the first 3days after admission. The intervention group had significantly (P<0.05) lower serum creatinine (SCr) on Day 2 and lower maximum SCr and tended (P=0.08) to have higher urine output (UOP) at Day 3 than the non-intervention group. No patient in the intervention group needed RRT (0 versus 3) during the hospital stay (P=0.09). Conclusions One-time routine nephrologist-guided application of the KDIGO bundle in ED patients with a risk for AKI cannot currently be recommended. However, due to the uniform trend of study endpoints in favour of intervention, further trials to investigate larger cohorts of more severely ill patients are warranted.