Acute renal failure worsens in-hospital outcomes in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage

Background: Occurrence of acute renal failure (ARF) is more common in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) compared with those with other stroke subtypes. We sought to determine the frequency and effect of ARF on in-hospital outcomes of patients with ICH. Methods: We analyzed data from all patients admitted to the United States' hospitals between 2005 and 2011 with the primary discharge diagnosis of ICH and secondary diagnosis of ARF. The associations of ARF with mortality and discharge outcomes in ICH patients were analyzed after adjusting for potential confounders using logistic regression analyses. Results: Of the 614,454 patients admitted with ICH, 41,694 (6.8%) had ARF. In-hospital dialysis was required in 700 (1.7%) patients. ICH patients with ARF had higher rates of moderateto-severe disability (49.5% versus 44.2%; P <.0001) and in-hospital mortality (28.7% versus 22.4%; P <.0001) compared with those without ARF. After adjusting for age, gender, and potential confounders defined as statistically significant variables on univariate analysis, ICH patients with ARF had higher odds of moderate-to-severe disability (odds ratio [OR] 1.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-1.3; P < .0001) and death (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.4-1.6; P < .0001). The rates of moderateto-severe disability and death were 37.5% and 50.2% among those who required dialysis, respectively. Conclusions: In patients with ICH, ARF is associated with significantly higher rates of in-hospital mortality and moderate-to-severe disability at the time of discharge.