Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Jan 12: Statin therapy in intensive care units (ICUs) has been associated with a significantly lower risk of 30-day all-cause mortality in patients suffering from non-traumatic intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) complicated by acute kidney injury (AKI), according to a large observational study using US critical care data.

Acute kidney injury is a common and serious complication in patients with ICH, particularly in critically ill individuals. While statins are primarily prescribed for cardiovascular protection, their anti-inflammatory and endothelial-stabilising effects have sparked interest in their potential benefits during acute illnesses.

Researchers analysed 1,805 adult ICU patients from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database who had both non-traumatic ICH and AKI. Among them, 654 patients received statin therapy after ICU admission. To account for baseline differences, including age, gender, and clinical characteristics, the investigators used propensity score matching and inverse probability of treatment weighting.

Across adjusted analyses, statin therapy consistently showed improved survival outcomes. Kaplan–Meier curves demonstrated a clear reduction in 30-day mortality for statin users compared to non-users (p<0.0001). Multivariate Cox regression revealed a 52% relative reduction in the risk of death at 30 days (hazard ratio 0.48; 95% CI 0.37–0.62, P < 0.001). Subgroup analyses supported the benefit across diverse patient categories.

The study highlights a potential therapeutic role for statins beyond lipid lowering in critically ill patients with ICH-AKI. Possible mechanisms include reducing systemic inflammation, enhancing endothelial function, and offering renal protection.

For ICU clinicians, these findings suggest that continuing or initiating statins in selected patients with ICH-AKI may improve short-term survival, supporting careful, individualised treatment decisions.