Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jul 25.
doi: 10.1038/s41372-025-02370-6. Online ahead of print.

Neonatal acute kidney injury and neurodevelopmental impairment: investigating associations in very low birthweight infants

Jeffrey E King  1 , Jill C Newman  2 , Olivia Kinsinger  2 , Molly Mead  2 , Megan D Rodgers  2 , Amy L Ruddy-Humphries  2 , Cassandra Coleman  3 , David T Selewski  2 , Heidi J Steflik  2
Affiliations

Neonatal acute kidney injury and neurodevelopmental impairment: investigating associations in very low birthweight infants

Jeffrey E King et al. J Perinatol. .

Abstract

Objective: Associations between neonatal acute kidney injury (AKI) and neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) remains understudied. We hypothesized AKI is associated with NDI in very low birthweight (VLBW) infants.

Study design: A single-center, retrospective cohort study of VLBW infants with and without AKI during hospitalization evaluated in developmental clinic at 18 to 35 months of age. Associations between AKI and NDI were examined using bivariate and multivariable generalized linear mixed modeling.

Result: Of 203 infants included, 64 (32%) experienced neonatal AKI and 76 (37%) developed NDI. The relative risk of NDI was significantly higher in those with AKI (RR 1.67, 95% CI 1.18-2.36; p < 0.01). In multivariable analysis, AKI was not an independent predictor of NDI (aRR 1.07, 95% CI 0.68-1.68; p = 0.77).

Conclusion: In bivariate analyses, AKI was a significant predictor of NDI. In a multivariable model, AKI was no longer an independent predictor of NDI. Further investigation is warranted.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing financial interests. This study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Medical University of South Carolina Institutional Review Board (IRB) for Human Research (Protocol ID Pro00131227). This study was exempt from ethics committee approval per IRB review. Informed consent was not needed as this was a retrospective chart review. This study was granted an exemption from requiring written informed consent per the MUSC IRB committee. The study was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Jetton JG, Boohaker LJ, Sethi SK, Wazir S, Rohatgi S, Soranno DE, et al. Incidence and outcomes of neonatal acute kidney injury (AWAKEN): a multicentre, multinational, observational cohort study. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2017;1:184–94. - PubMed - PMC
    1. Coleman C, Tambay Perez A, Selewski DT, Steflik HJ. Neonatal acute kidney injury. Front Pediatr. 2022;10:842544. - PubMed - PMC
    1. Chaturvedi S, Ng KH, Mammen C. The path to chronic kidney disease following acute kidney injury: a neonatal perspective. Pediatr Nephrol. 2017;32:227–41. - PubMed
    1. Starr MC, Charlton JR, Guillet R, Reidy K, Tipple TE, Jetton JG, et al. Advances in neonatal acute kidney injury. Pediatrics. 2021;148:1–9.
    1. Juul SE, Comstock BA, Wadhawan R, Mayock DE, Courtney SE, Robinson T, et al. A randomized trial of erythropoietin for neuroprotection in preterm infants. N Engl J Med. 2020;382:233–43. - PubMed - PMC

LinkOut - more resources