Objectives: Nephron-sparing surgery (NSS) exposes the kidney to ischemia-reperfusion injury. Blood loss and hypotension are also associated with kidney injury. We aimed to test the hypothesis that, during NSS, both ischemia duration and blood loss significantly affect postoperative renal function and that their effects interact.
Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing NSS were enrolled. The primary endpoint was renal function expressed as the absolute delta between preoperative and postoperative peak creatinine. We developed a generalized linear model with the ischemia duration and absolute hemoglobin difference as independent variables, their interaction term, and the RENAL score. The model was than expanded to include a history of hypertension (as a proxy for hypotension susceptibility) and related interaction terms. Further, we described the perioperative and mid-term oncological outcomes.
Results: A total of 478 patients underwent NSS, and 209 (43.7%) required ischemia for a mean of 10.9 min (SD 8). Both the ischemia duration (partial eta 0.842, p = 0.006) and hemoglobin difference (partial eta 0.933, p = 0.029) significantly affected postoperative renal function, albeit without evidence of a significant interaction (p = 0.525). The RENAL score also significantly influenced postoperative renal function (p = 0.023). After the addition of a previous history of hypertension, the effects persisted, with a significant interaction between blood loss and a history of hypertension (p = 0.02).
Conclusions: Ischemia duration and blood loss had a similar impact on postoperative renal function, albeit without potentiating each other. While the surgical technique and ischemia minimization remain crucial to postoperative kidney function, increased awareness of conscious hemodynamic management appears warranted.
Keywords: kidney neoplasm; nephrectomy methods; postoperative complications.