Efficacy of CHA₂DS₂-VASc scores in predicting chronic kidney disease risk in patients treated in cardiac intensive care units

The CHA₂DS₂ -VASc score is a vital clinical tool for evaluating thromboembolic risk in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). This study investigated the efficacy of the CHA₂DS₂ -VASc score in a cohort of 737 heterogeneous patients (mean age: 63 years) receiving care in cardiac intensive care units (CICUs), with a creatinine-based estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m² upon admission and discharge. Incident chronic kidney disease (CKD) was defined as the emergence of a new-onset eGFR<60 mL/min/1.73 m², accompanied by a decline of >5 mL/min/1.73 m² compared to that at discharge. The primary endpoint was the incidence of CKD, and the secondary endpoints included all-cause mortality, cardiovascular events, and progression to end-stage kidney disease. In this cohort, 210 (28 %) patients developed CKD. Multivariate analyses revealed that CHA₂DS₂ -VASc score was a significant independent predictor of incident CKD, regardless of the presence of AF. Integration of CHA₂DS₂ -VASc scores with eGFR enhanced the predictive accuracy of incident CKD, as evidenced by the improved C-index, net reclassification improvement, and integrated discrimination improvement values (all p < 0.05). Over the 12-month follow-up period, a composite endpoint was observed in 61 patients (8.3 %), with elevated CHA₂DS₂ -VASc scores being independently associated with this endpoint. In conclusion, CHA₂DS₂-VASc scores have emerged as robust predictors of both CKD incidence and adverse outcomes. Their inclusion substantially refined the 12-month risk stratification of patients with preserved renal function hospitalized in the CICUs.