PERSEVERE Biomarkers predict severe acute kidney injury and renal recovery in pediatric septic shock

Rationale: Acute kidney injury (AKI), a common complication of sepsis, is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality and lacks definitive disease-modifying therapy. Early, reliable identification of at-risk patients is important for targeted implementation of renal protective measures. The updated Pediatric Sepsis Biomarker Risk Model (PERSEVERE-II) is a validated, multibiomarker prognostic enrichment strategy to estimate baseline mortality risk in pediatric septic shock. Objectives: To assess the association between PERSEVERE-II mortality probability and the development of severe, sepsis-associated AKI on Day 3 (D₃ SA-AKI) in pediatric septic shock. Methods: We performed secondary analysis of a prospective observational study of children with septic shock in whom the PERSEVERE biomarkers were measured to assign a PERSEVERE-II baseline mortality risk. Measurements and Main Results: Among 379 patients, 65 (17%) developed severe D₃ SA-AKI. The proportion of patients developing severe D₃ SA-AKI increased directly with increasing PERSEVERE-II risk category, and increasing PERSEVERE-II mortality probability was independently associated with increased odds of severe D₃ SA-AKI after adjustment for age and illness severity (odds ratio, 1.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-1.7; P, 0.001). Similar associations were found between increasing PERSEVERE-II mortality probability and the need for renal replacement therapy. Lower PERSEVERE-II mortality probability was independently associated with increased odds of renal recovery among patients with early AKI. A newly derived model incorporating the PERSEVERE biomarkers and Day 1 AKI status predicted severe D₃ SA-AKI with an area under the received operating characteristic curve of 0.95 (95% confidence interval, 0.92-0.98). Conclusions: Among children with septic shock, the PERSEVERE biomarkers predict severe D₃ SA-AKI and identify patients with early AKI who are likely to recover.