Abstract
BACKGROUND: Sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (AKI) presents a significant clinical challenge, necessitating the identification of predictive indicators for early detection and intervention. This retrospective case-control study aimed to investigate the predictive potential of renal vascular resistance index and serum biomarkers in sepsis-associated AKI. METHODS: A cohort of 108 patients diagnosed with sepsis was separated into two groups-those with acute kidney injury (AKI) and those without-using the diagnostic criteria established by the kidney disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) guidelines. Various demographic, clinical, and laboratory parameters were collected, including renal resistive index, serum biomarkers, disease severity scores, and clinical outcomes. Statistical analyses, including t-tests, correlation analysis, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, and joint model construction, were conducted to evaluate the predictive value of these parameters. RESULTS: The AKI group exhibited higher APACHE II and SOFA scores compared to the non-AKI group, indicating the association between disease severity scores and the presence of AKI in septic patients. Renal resistive index and several serum biomarkers, including C-reactive protein and procalcitonin, were notably elevated in the AKI group. Correlation analysis demonstrated significant associations between renal vascular resistance index, serological biomarkers, and clinical severity scores. ROC analysis revealed that several parameters, including Renal Resistive Index (AUC = 0.667), C-reactive Protein (CRP, AUC = 0.665), Platelet Count (AUC = 0.666), and Prothrombin Time (AUC = 0.669), demonstrated moderate diagnostic performance for predicting sepsis-associated AKI. These parameters were subsequently incorporated into a joint predictive model, which exhibited robust diagnostic accuracy with an AUC of 0.780, highlighting its potential utility as a reliable predictive tool in clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings underscore the potential for integrating renal vascular parameters and serum biomarkers in clinical risk stratification and early intervention strategies for sepsis-associated AKI. CLINICAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable.