• Yie Hui Lau, Andrew Y Li, Shir Lynn Lim, Kai Lee Woo, Kollengode Ramanathan, Horng-Ruey Chua, K Akalya, Addy Yh Tan, Jason Phua, Jonathan Je Tan, Ser Hon Puah, Yew Woon Chia, Sean Ch Loh, Ahmed KhanFaheemFIntensive Care Medicine, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, Singapore., Somnath Chatterjee, Manish Kaushik, Kay Choong See, and Society of Intensive Care Medicine (Singapore)-National Investigators for Epidemiology and Research (SICM-NICER).
• Department of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore.
• Ann Acad Med Singap. 2023 Aug 30; 52 (8): 390397390-397.

IntroductionAnticoagulation is recommended during continuous kidney replacement therapy (CKRT) to prolong the filter lifespan for optimal filter performance. We aimed to evaluate the effect of anticoagulation during CKRT on dialysis dependence and mortality within 90 days of intensive care unit (ICU) admission.MethodOur retrospective observational study evaluated the first CKRT session in critically ill adults with acute kidney injury (AKI) in Singapore from April to September 2017. The primary outcome was a composite of dialysis dependence or death within 90 days of ICU admission; the main exposure variable was anticoagulation use (regional citrate anticoagulation [RCA] or systemic heparin). Multivariable logistic regression was performed to adjust for possible confounders: age, female sex, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II) score, liver dysfunction, coagulopathy (international normalised ratio[INR] >1.5) and platelet counts of less than 100,000/uL).ResultsThe study cohort included 276 patients from 14 participating adult ICUs, of whom 176 (63.8%) experienced dialysis dependence or death within 90 days of ICU admission (19 dialysis dependence, 157 death). Anticoagulation significantly reduced the odds of the primary outcome (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.27-0.83, P=0.009). Logistic regression analysis using anticoagulation as a 3-level indicator variable demonstrated that RCA was associated with mortality reduction (AOR 0.46, 95% CI 0.25-0.83, P=0.011), with heparin having a consistent trend (AOR 0.51, 95% CI 0.23-1.14, P=0.102).ConclusionAmong critically ill patients with AKI, anticoagulation use during CKRT was associated with reduced dialysis or death at 90 days post-ICU admission, which was statistically significant for regional citrate anticoagulation and trended in the same direction of benefit for systemic heparin anticoagulation. Anticoagulation during CKRT should be considered whenever possible.

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