In neonatal and pediatric patients who require extracorporeal life support (ECLS), 60-70% develop acute kidney injury (AKI). Acute kidney injury has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. We sought to describe our center's experience with AKI in patients requiring ECLS and its effect on outcomes. We conducted a retrospective single-center study at an academic children's hospital. All patients 0-18 years of age who required ECLS between January 2014 and December 2019. During the study period, there were 313 ECLS runs. The majority were neonates (66.8%) and 68.7% of runs were veno-arterial. Using Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria, 227 patients (72.5%) developed stage 2 or 3 AKI. The AKI group were younger (median age: 0.9 vs. 11.7 months, p < 0.001), more likely to experience a hemorrhagic complication (46.9% vs. 31.9%, p = 0.0298), and had higher mortality rates (44.9% vs. 24.4%, p = 0.0009). Neonates who required ECLS were more likely to develop stage 2 or 3 AKI (78%) than pediatrics (63%) (p = 0.005). Adjusting for confounders, patients who developed AKI had 2.38 times higher odds of mortality (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.34-4.25, p = 0.003). We conclude that the majority of patients requiring ECLS develop stage 2 or 3 AKI. Those with AKI were twice as likely to die when controlling for confounding variables. Multicenter and prospective evaluation of this modifiable risk factor is imperative to improve the care of this high-risk cohort.
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