Figure 1
Definition of exposure and outcomes of the study. Every patient undergoing cardiac surgery was admitted to surgical ICU and evaluated for kidney function. In this study, AKI was defined as serum creatinine elevated to >0.3 mg/dL or 1.5 times higher than the baseline value within seven days after ICU admission, and AKD as an elevation in serum creatinine to at least 1.5-fold from baseline in >7 days after ICU admission. Patients were divided into three groups within seven days: those with no AKI, transient AKI (persisting for less than three days) and persistent AKI (persisting for three days or longer but less than 7). In the first analysis, AKD was evaluated for association with 90-day mortality and renal recovery from hospital discharge. In the second analysis, AKD was evaluated for association with subsequent decline of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) during the 2-year follow-up.
