June 30, 2025

Children who experience acute kidney injury face higher risk of future kidney problems

Recent research shows that children who experience acute kidney injury (AKI) have a significantly higher risk—18 per cent—of developing kidney health complications later in life. 

Smaller studies in specific pediatric groups, such as premature babies, pediatric cancer patients, and children in intensive care units, have previously linked childhood AKI to an increased risk of kidney problems in adulthood. However, Dr. Cal H. Robinson, a pediatric nephrologist at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, and colleagues wanted to better understand the long-term impacts of AKI in a broader pediatric population. 

Using coded hospital records, the researchers analyzed the long-term outcomes of more than 4,100 children in Ontario who were hospitalized with AKI between 1996 and 2020 and did not require renal replacement therapy. They compared these outcomes to those of more than 16,300 hospitalized children without AKI. 

The findings show that children without AKI had a 5 per cent chance of developing kidney complications later in life, while children who experienced AKI faced an 18 per cent chance. More specifically, children with AKI were twice as likely to develop chronic kidney disease, twice as likely to develop hypertension, and three times as likely to experience AKI again during a future hospital stay. 

These results, published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, suggest that children who experience AKI should have their kidney health closely monitored over time.