Rationale
Relative and overt hypovolaemia are significant risk factors for development of AKI [
15‐
18]. Timely fluid administration can restore circulating volume and renal perfusion, and may also reduce nephrotoxicity [
19]. Volume replacement should be performed in a controlled, monitored fashion [
20] as injudicious use of fluids carries its own inherent risks and may even contribute to AKI by increasing renal interstitial oedema and renal parenchymal pressure [
21,
22]. Moreover, goal-directed therapy including the use of central venous pressure (CVP) as a resuscitation target has not been shown to prevent AKI in sepsis [
23]. Volume replacement may be through crystalloids, colloids or their combination. Isotonic crystalloids represent the mainstay for correcting extracellular volume depletion with the caveat that hyperchloraemia is prevented to reduce potential renal vasoconstriction [
24,
25]. Compared to crystalloids, colloids theoretically result in a greater plasma expansion. However, this effect depends on vascular barrier integrity which may be compromised in sepsis, particularly in the presence of vasoplegia [
26,
27]. Consequently, the difference in required volumes for fluid resuscitation was minimal between crystalloids and colloids in large RCTs [
28]. Moreover, large volume replacement with colloids alone risks hyperoncotic impairment of glomerular filtration [
29,
30] and osmotic tubular damage [
31,
32].
Available artificial colloids include gelatines, dextrans and until recently, starches. Gelatines have a moderate volume effect. Although risk of osmotic nephrosis with gelatines exists [
33], the lack of clear clinical data on deleterious effects on renal function [
34,
35] is offset by the possible prion transmission, histamine release and coagulopathy [
36,
37]. Dextrans have reasonably high volume effects although anaphylaxis, coagulation disorders, osmotic nephrosis and AKI may occur with doses above 1.5 g/kg/day [
38‐
41]. Human albumin (HA) is the only naturally occurring colloid and may appear attractive in hypooncotic hypovolaemia. It does increase the response to diuretics in patients with hypoalbuminaemia (e.g. nephrotic syndrome) [
42,
43], has no negative effects on kidney function [
44,
45], is safe [
46] but can be costly.
Clinical studies
Unsurprisingly, no studies have specifically addressed the effects of volume expansion compared to no volume resuscitation in overt hypovolaemia given the intuitive benefits of volume replacement. In severe sepsis, the beneficial effects of timely volume replacement on organ failure and mortality are well known, although the first RCT proving benefit of early volume resuscitation did not report kidney function [
47]. On the other hand, preoperative volume expansion failed to reduce the incidence of postoperative AKI ins 328 patients undergoing cardiac surgery [
48], and a recent pilot RCT in sepsis could demonstrate that a volume-restrictive fluid protocol can reduced the incidence of AKI (RR 0.32; 95% CI 0.32–0.96) [
49].
Crystalloids are considered the mainstay for volume expansion. Observational studies suggest an increased risk of AKI, renal replacement therapy (RRT) and mortality associated with the use of large volumes of normal saline (0.9% NaCl) as compared to so-called balanced solutions where chloride is partially replaced by another metabolizable anion [
50‐
52]. An RCT comparing saline to a balanced solution (Plasmalyte
®) in 2278 patients treated in four ICUs failed to show any superiority of balanced crystalloids regarding renal outcomes [
53]. The study has been criticized for the limited fluid doses, inclusion of patients with low disease severity and the absence of data on chloride levels [
54]. Similar results were observed in the pilot cluster-randomised, multiple-crossover SALT trial comparing saline to a balanced solution in 974 critically ill adults [
55]. Again, only modest volumes were used, but increased rates of AKI were found in the normal saline group if larger volumes were administered (ESM_2 Table S2). Studies on the effectiveness of sodium bicarbonate in preventing AKI, predominantly in patients undergoing cardiac surgery, have produced conflicting results [
56‐
59] as have consecutive meta-analyses [
60‐
63].
The effect of
colloids on renal function has undergone extensive scrutiny over the last decade. Large RCTs have substantiated the increased risk of AKI and RRT with use of starches [
64] particularly in sepsis [
65,
66], where they also lead to increased mortality [
66] (ESM_2 Table S3). This is verified by several meta-analyses [
67‐
70] which underpin the abandoning of starches in critically ill patients [
20,
71,
72]. Clinical data on the effects of gelatine on renal function are scarce. A recent meta-analysis, including three trials in 212 patients comparing gelatins with crystalloids or albumin, indicated a 35% increased relative risk of developing AKI with gelatine [
73].
In contrast to artificial colloids, the administration of albumin appears to be safe for the kidney. A large RCT comparing normal saline to 4% HA in various clinical settings failed to demonstrate any differences in renal function [
46] (ESM_2 Table S3). In the ALBIOS trial the use of hyperoncotic (20%) albumin showed no effect on AKI or need for RRT in severe sepsis [
74] but enabled a less positive fluid balance, confirming the results of another small trial [
75]. A post hoc analysis of the ALBIOS trial showed survival benefit in septic shock [
74] confirmed by meta-analyses [
76,
77]. Hypoalbuminaemia in cardiac surgery might be another indication with improved fluid balance as well as a reduced rate of AKI being observed in a single-centre RCT of 220 patients [
78].
Hypovolaemia may also contribute significantly towards drug-induced renal injury, although the available evidence supporting preventative hydration is only observational with no consensus related to timing, optimal volume and type of solution [
19,
237,
79]. Prophylactic volume expansion has been shown to prevent harm from amphotericin B, antivirals including foscarnet, cidofovir and adefovir [
81‐
83] as well as drugs causing crystal nephropathy such as indinavir, acyclovir, and sulfadiazine [
84].
Prophylactic volume expansion is the mainstay of all recommendations to prevent contrast-associated AKI (CA-AKI) and is based on several randomised controlled studies performed in non-critically ill patients [
85‐
90]. However, studies comparing hydration to no hydration are scarce [
91]. Several pitfalls should be considered. First, CA-AKI is a diagnosis of exclusion and considerable variation exists with regard to the reported incidence rates, which are confounded by many factors such as transient fluctuations in measured serum creatinine in hospitalised patients and use of non-standardised diagnostic criteria [
92]. Secondly, CA-AKI does not occur in patients without other risk factors for AKI, whereas most critically ill patients receiving intravascular contrast have other risk factors. Moreover, individuals with high risk for CA-AKI may not be given contrast. For these reasons the role of CA-AKI is uncertain, particularly in an era where the use of low- or iso-osmotic agents and lower contrast volume administration have become standard practice. As indicated by an analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample dataset comprising 5, 931,523 hospitalisations the OR for CA-AKI adjusted for age, sex, mechanical ventilation and combined co-morbidity score was 0.93 (0.88–0.97) [
93]. Whereas a retrospective single-centre cohort study in 747 critically ill patients showed a rate of CA-AKI of 16% [
94], matched cohort studies could not demonstrate a relationship with IV contrast for computed tomography in the ICU [
95‐
97] or emergency department [
98]. These findings are supported by a systematic review and Bayesian meta-analysis [
99]. In the most recent propensity-matched cohort study, IV contrast was not associated with an increased risk of AKI or dialysis, but a subgroup with pre-CT eGFR of at most 45 ml/min/1.73 m
2 showed an increased risk of dialysis. The numbers in this subgroup were, however, small and subject to selection bias [
97].
Although it seems prudent to correct hypovolaemia before contrast administration, prophylactic volume expansion in critically ll patients who are euvolaemic cannot be recommended on the basis of current data. No study demonstrates protection of pre-emptive volume expansion against CA-AKI in the critically ill. An RCT comparing hydration with isotonic bicarbonate versus normal saline failed to show superiority of either regimen but reported an excessively high rate of CA-AKI of 33% in both groups [
100], which may be attributed to severity of illness in this critically ill cohort. Importantly, in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), hydration volumes above 11 ml/kg body weight (BW) were associated with continuously increased rates of AKI, requirement for RRT and mortality. The adjusted OR for developing AKI with hydration volumes greater than 25 ml/kg BW was 2.11 (CI 1.24–3.59) [
101]. We recommend that the clinical decision to perform a contrast study in ICU patients must weigh the potential benefits with the low but probably not zero risk of CA-AKI.