Initial serum chloride is associated with all-cause mortality in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury

Objective Disorders related to serum chloride concentration have recently attracted considerable interest. We sought to determine whether initial serum chloride was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality among critically ill patients diagnosed with acute kidney injury (AKI).Methods...

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Main Authors: Dezhun Chen, Fengfeng Lu, Bihuan Cheng, Benji Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Renal Failure
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/0886022X.2025.2536731
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author Dezhun Chen
Fengfeng Lu
Bihuan Cheng
Benji Wang
author_facet Dezhun Chen
Fengfeng Lu
Bihuan Cheng
Benji Wang
author_sort Dezhun Chen
collection DOAJ
description Objective Disorders related to serum chloride concentration have recently attracted considerable interest. We sought to determine whether initial serum chloride was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality among critically ill patients diagnosed with acute kidney injury (AKI).Methods We searched the Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring in the Intensive Care IV database to retrieve clinical data, including demographic factors, clinical variables, lab tests, and scoring systems. Hypothesis testing was conducted using a range of statistical approaches, including the generalized additive model, the Cox proportional hazards model, and subgroup analyses.Results Our research included 19,107 participants who met the set criteria. We found that the levels of chloride in the patient’s serum upon admission had a similar inverted L-shaped relationship with the 30-day all-cause mortality rate in AKI. In multivariate analysis following the adjustment of confounders such as sex, ethnicity, and age, compared with the referent group (100–105 mmol/L), low-chloride (< 100 mmol/L) was a considerable risk predictor for 30-day, 90-day, and 365-day all-cause mortality. In particular, the HRs (95% CIs) for chloride were 1.49 (1.36, 1.63), 1.48 (1.36, 1.61), and 1.59 (1.47, 1.71). After adjusting additional clinical characteristics, low-chloride levels still served independently as a major predictor of all-cause mortality over 30 days, 90 days, and 365 days (HR, 95% CI: 1.24, 1.09–1.41; 1.17, 1.04–1.32; 1.27, 1.14–1.42).Conclusions The probability of all-cause mortality was higher in severely ill individuals with AKI who had lower baseline serum chloride levels upon admission to the intensive care unit (ICU).
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spelling doaj-art-3c7ca44baba34679b69801ddbc1d548a2025-08-20T03:15:09ZengTaylor & Francis GroupRenal Failure0886-022X1525-60492025-12-0147110.1080/0886022X.2025.2536731Initial serum chloride is associated with all-cause mortality in critically ill patients with acute kidney injuryDezhun Chen0Fengfeng Lu1Bihuan Cheng2Benji Wang3Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, ChinaDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, ChinaDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, ChinaDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, ChinaObjective Disorders related to serum chloride concentration have recently attracted considerable interest. We sought to determine whether initial serum chloride was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality among critically ill patients diagnosed with acute kidney injury (AKI).Methods We searched the Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring in the Intensive Care IV database to retrieve clinical data, including demographic factors, clinical variables, lab tests, and scoring systems. Hypothesis testing was conducted using a range of statistical approaches, including the generalized additive model, the Cox proportional hazards model, and subgroup analyses.Results Our research included 19,107 participants who met the set criteria. We found that the levels of chloride in the patient’s serum upon admission had a similar inverted L-shaped relationship with the 30-day all-cause mortality rate in AKI. In multivariate analysis following the adjustment of confounders such as sex, ethnicity, and age, compared with the referent group (100–105 mmol/L), low-chloride (< 100 mmol/L) was a considerable risk predictor for 30-day, 90-day, and 365-day all-cause mortality. In particular, the HRs (95% CIs) for chloride were 1.49 (1.36, 1.63), 1.48 (1.36, 1.61), and 1.59 (1.47, 1.71). After adjusting additional clinical characteristics, low-chloride levels still served independently as a major predictor of all-cause mortality over 30 days, 90 days, and 365 days (HR, 95% CI: 1.24, 1.09–1.41; 1.17, 1.04–1.32; 1.27, 1.14–1.42).Conclusions The probability of all-cause mortality was higher in severely ill individuals with AKI who had lower baseline serum chloride levels upon admission to the intensive care unit (ICU).https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/0886022X.2025.2536731Serum chlorideAcute kidney injurymortalitybiomarker
spellingShingle Dezhun Chen
Fengfeng Lu
Bihuan Cheng
Benji Wang
Initial serum chloride is associated with all-cause mortality in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury
Renal Failure
Serum chloride
Acute kidney injury
mortality
biomarker
title Initial serum chloride is associated with all-cause mortality in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury
title_full Initial serum chloride is associated with all-cause mortality in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury
title_fullStr Initial serum chloride is associated with all-cause mortality in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury
title_full_unstemmed Initial serum chloride is associated with all-cause mortality in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury
title_short Initial serum chloride is associated with all-cause mortality in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury
title_sort initial serum chloride is associated with all cause mortality in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury
topic Serum chloride
Acute kidney injury
mortality
biomarker
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/0886022X.2025.2536731
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AT fengfenglu initialserumchlorideisassociatedwithallcausemortalityincriticallyillpatientswithacutekidneyinjury
AT bihuancheng initialserumchlorideisassociatedwithallcausemortalityincriticallyillpatientswithacutekidneyinjury
AT benjiwang initialserumchlorideisassociatedwithallcausemortalityincriticallyillpatientswithacutekidneyinjury