Long-term renal outcome of snake bite and acute kidney injury: a single-center experience.

BACKGROUND

Snake bite can cause acute kidney injury (AKI) through multiple mechanisms. Many of these patients have severe kidney injury requiring renal replacement therapy. The long-term outcome of survivors of such severe AKI is not known.

METHODS

We prospectively followed up 60 patients who developed dialysis-requiring severe AKI following snake bite and had survived the hospital stay.

RESULTS

A total of 25 (41%) patients showed persistent renal involvement in the form of renal dysfunction, proteinuria, or hypertension at a mean period of follow-up of 45 months. Totally 5% of the patients progressed to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) while 20% had glomerular filtration rate (GFR) <45 mL/min.

CONCLUSIONS

Long-term outcome of snake bite and AKI is not benign with a significant percentage of patients continuing to have features of persistent renal damage.