Pitt Pediatrics congratulates Cassandra Lynn Formeck, MD, MS, for her recent publication in American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney360 with her article “Risk and Timing of De Novo Sepsis in Critically Ill 
Children Following Acute Kidney Injury.”
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common among critically ill children and is associated with an increased risk for de novo infection, however little is known about the epidemiology and temporal relationship between AKI and AKI-associated infection in this cohort. The team conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study of children admitted to the pediatric and cardiac ICUs at a tertiary pediatric care center.
Some key points found within the study were:
- Critically ill children with AKI have a 42% increase in the probability of developing hospital-acquired sepsis vs children without AKI.
- When evaluating risk of sepsis over time, children with stage 3 AKI remain at increased risk for sepsis for at least 2 weeks post AKI onset.
- Medical providers should monitor for signs of sepsis following AKI and limit exposures that may increase the risk for infection.