Introduction: We investigated whether the concomitant use of diuretics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers (triple whammy, TW) predicts in-hospital acute kidney injury (AKI) and whether admission during recorded periods of extreme heat influences this association.
Methods: We retrospectively collected data on patient characteristics and use of TW/non-TW drugs on admission, AKI (increase in serum creatinine ≥ 27 µmol/l either within the first 48 h of admission or throughout hospitalization, primary outcome), length of stay (LOS), and mortality (secondary outcomes) in medical patients ≥65 years admitted (1) during five consecutive heat waves (HWs) between 2007 and 2009 (n = 382) or (2) either before or after each HW, matched for HW period, age, and admission day of the week (non-HW, controls, n = 1339).
Results: Number of TW and non-TW drugs, co-morbidities, number of daily admissions, incidence of in-hospital AKI, LOS, and mortality were similar in the HW and non-HW groups. After adjusting for clinical and demographic confounders, logistic regression showed that TW use did not predict AKI within 48 h of admission either during non-HW periods (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.34-1.83, P = 0.58) or during HWs (OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.21-2.97, P = 0.97). Similar results were observed when AKI was captured throughout hospitalization. TW use did not predict LOS or mortality irrespective of environmental temperature on admission.
Conclusions: TW use on admission did not predict in-hospital AKI, LOS, or mortality in older medical patients admitted either during periods of normal environmental temperature or during HWs.
Keywords: Acute kidney injury; Heat waves; Length of stay; Mortality; Nephrology; Triple whammy.