Background and objective: To observe the outcomes of AKI following multiple wasp stings.
Design, setting, participants, & measurements: Eighty-one patients (mean age ± SD, 45.5 ± 14.7 years; 55 men and 26 women; mean Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, 16.85 ± 2.78) with AKI following multiple wasp stings between 1997 and 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. Data on their demographic characteristics, initial modalities of renal replacement therapy (RRT), urine output, serum creatinine, bilirubin, myoglobin, and other variables were collected. Renal outcomes included complete recovery of kidney function, CKD, and death. Subgroup analysis was performed according to initial modality of RRT in the first 48 hours, including continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CVVH), intermittent hemodialysis (IHD), and CVVH plus plasma exchange (PE).
Results: Of the 75 patients available for follow-up, 7 (9.3%) died, and 8 (10.7%, all in the IHD group) developed CKD. The average RRT time was 18.2 ± 8.4 days, and the average kidney function recovery time was 36.0 (29.0, 41.0) days. Subgroup analysis showed no difference in the mortality rates between the CVVH, CVVH + PE, and IHD groups (8.0%, 7.1%, and 11.1%, respectively; P>0.99). The recovery time for kidney function was significantly shorter in the CVVH and CVVH + PE groups than in the IHD group (31.9 ± 8.5 days, 28.6 ± 9.4 days, and 41.6 ± 8.1 days, respectively; P<0.001).
Conclusions: This is a large case series report on the outcomes of patients with AKI following multiple wasp stings. Most patients survived with complete recovery of their kidney function. Despite the lack of difference in mortality rates, the patients who began RRT with CVVH and CVVH + PE experienced a better and more rapid recovery of kidney function than those initiated with IHD.