Abstract:Objective To investigate the rate of nephrological consultation (NC) in non-nephrological hospitalized elderly patients after acute kidney injury (AKI), and compare the clinical and laboratory characteristics between the patients consulted by nephrologists or not, and analyze the risk factors for early consultation. Methods A total of 639 elderly patients hospitalized in the geriatric department from January 2007 to 2015 were enrolled in this study, and their clinical data were collected and retrospectively analyzed. According to undergoing NC or not, these patients were divided into consultation group (n=154) and non-consultation group (n=485). The former group was further assigned into early consultation subgroup (n=95, undergoing NC within 48 h after AKI) and delayed consultation subgroup (n=59, undergoing NC after 48 h following AKI). SPSS statistics 17.0 was used for data processing. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was employed to identify the related factors for doing consultation and time of consultation. Results The 639 AKI patients were at a median age of 87(84,1) years, and 24.1%(154/639) of them underwent NC. The median time for NC was in 2(1,4)d after AKI. Indeed, most patients referred to nephrologists underwent early NC (61.7%, 95/154), with a median time for consultation of 1(1,2)d. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that NC patients had significantly higher ratio of chronic obstructivepulmonary disease (COPD, OR=1.685,5%CI 1.057-2.687, P=0.028), earlier diagnosis of AKI (OR=0.899,5%CI:0.821-0.985, P=0.022), higher peak serum creatinine level (OR=1.005,5%CI 1.002-1.007, P<0.001),and higher blood urea nitrogen level (OR=1.020,5%CI 1.001-1.039, P=0.036) than the patients not undergoing NC. NC was delayed (>48 h) in 59 patients (38.3%, 59/154), with a median time of 4(3,8)d. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that later AKI diagnosis (OR=1.214, 95%CI 1.041-1.416, P=0.013), non-decreasing urine volume (OR=0.115,5%CI 0.014-0.953, P=0.045), and not higher uric acid level (OR=0.997,5%CI 0.994-0.999, P=0.014) were independent risk factors for early NC. Conclusion The time for AKI diagnosis not only affects NC, but also leads to delayed NC. Early AKI diagnosis is helpful to early NC.