Severe Pregnancy-Associated Acute Kidney Injury and Maternal Vulnerability

Abstract Background Severe pregnancy-associated acute kidney injury (PrAKI) is an uncommon but life-threatening complication of pregnancy. Contemporary population-level data on severe PrAKI in high-income countries, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, remain limited. We examined temporal changes in the clinical context and outcomes of severe PrAKI in the United States from 2012 to 2022, with particular attention to the relationship between illness severity, dialysis utilization, and maternal mortality. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted using electronic health care records (EHR), including 4,094,111 pregnancies. Severe PrAKI was identified using a stringent kidney function-based definition (dialysis initiation or a first recorded eGFR < 15 mL/min/1.73 m²). Temporal trends in the incidence of severe PrAKI, maternal all-cause mortality, and pregnancy-associated dialysis were evaluated, and logistic regression was used to identify factors independently associated with severe PrAKI, including the impact of the COVID-19 period. Results The incidence of severe PrAKI increased nearly three-fold from 9.0 per 10,000 pregnancies in 2012-2013 to 27.6 per 10,000 pregnancies in the COVID-19 era (2020-2022). During the COVID-19 period, maternal all-cause mortality among pregnancies complicated by severe PrAKI increased, whereas the proportion requiring pregnancy-associated dialysis remained stable over time. Pregnancies complicated by severe PrAKI occurred more in individuals who were older and had a higher burden of cardiometabolic comorbidities. Chronic hypertension (aOR: 1.64), obesity (aOR: 1.60), diabetes mellitus (aOR: 1.37), hyperlipidemia (aOR: 1.27), chronic kidney disease (aOR: 1.21), maternal age (aOR: 1.02), and COVID-19 (aOR: 1.12) were independently associated with PrAKI. Conclusions In this US cohort, severe PrAKI appears to be associated with acute systemic illness occurring in the setting of underlying chronic cardiometabolic vulnerability. The dissociation between rising mortality and stable dialysis utilization underscores the need for earlier risk stratification and multidisciplinary care to reduce maternal mortality.