Pre-surgical chronic kidney disease continues to drive outcomes in the modern era of minimally invasive renal surgery, despite advances in technology

PURPOSE

To assess the impact of preoperative chronic kidney disease (CKD) on perioperative morbidity and mortality in a contemporary cohort undergoing renal surgery in an era of increased prevalence of minimally invasive surgery and partial nephrectomy.

METHODS

The National Surgery Quality Improvement Program dataset was queried to identify patients undergoing radical nephrectomy (RN) or partial nephrectomy (PN) between 2010 and 2018. CKD staging was assigned based on creatinine clearance calculated using the Cockcroft-Gault formula. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess the effect of preoperative CKD stage on postoperative outcomes, including a composite variable encompassing multiple major complications.

RESULTS

We analyzed 19,545 patients with CKD undergoing renal surgery. CKD stage ≥ 2 predicted an increase in major perioperative complications, OR 1.54 (95% CI 1.46-1.63); p < 0.01. The risk of perioperative morbidity increased linearly with increasing CKD stage. Patients with CKD stage > 2 also demonstrated increased 30-day mortality, OR 1.87 (95% CI 1.26-2.48); p < 0.01. Adjusting for surgery type, CKD staging predicted perioperative mortality in patients undergoing RN only, and perioperative morbidity in RN and PN.

CONCLUSIONS

Here, we demonstrate a statistically significant increase in the risk of major postoperative complications following RN and PN with increasing CKD stage. Amongst patients undergoing RN, we also demonstrate increasing 30-day mortality with increasing CKD stage. Importantly, we highlight the ability of CKD staging to predict major perioperative outcomes with greater magnitude of effect than surgery type alone. Thus, we provide a model for translating CKD staging into operative risk amongst patients undergoing surgery for a renal mass.