DOI: https://doi.org/10.36347/sjams.2026.v14i01.009

Pages: 56-62

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and serious complication in hospitalized patients, even when the primary reason for admission is unrelated to kidney disease. It is often overlooked in non-renal admissions, leading to delayed diagnosis and management. AKI contributes significantly to increased hospital mortality, longer duration of stay, higher healthcare costs, and risk of progression to chronic kidney disease (CKD). Understanding its clinical patterns and outcomes in this context is essential for improving early detection and patient care, particularly in low-resource settings where diagnostic and monitoring capacities may be limited. Aim: To assess the clinical characteristics, treatment modalities, and renal outcomes of patients who developed AKI during hospitalization for non-renal primary diagnoses. Method: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the Department of Nephrology at Bangladesh Medical University (BMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh from January 2021 to December 2021. A total of 156 hospitalized patients who developed acute kidney injury (AKI) during admission for non-renal conditions were included. Data on demographics, comorbidities, clinical presentations, laboratory parameters, imaging findings, treatment modalities, and renal outcomes were collected and analyzed. Statistical associations were evaluated using odds ratios, confidence intervals, and p-values, with significance set at p<0.05. Results: In this study of 156 hospitalized patients who developed acute kidney injury (AKI) without prior renal disease, the majority were middle-aged (41.52±13.28 years) with a male predominance (58.3%). The most common clinical diagnoses were sepsis (42.9%) and hypovolemia due to fluid loss (37.2%). Conservative fluid management was given to 85.3% of patients, yet 11.5% required hemodialysis, indicating a high burden of severe AKI. While 66.7% recovered fully, 23.1% progressed to chronic kidney disease (CKD), and 10.3% died. Sepsis wa