Bicarbonates for the prevention of postoperative renal failure in endovascular aortic aneurysm repair: a randomized pilot trial

Randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effect of contrast material dilution on renal function in patients after endovascular aortic repair: rationale and design for the CULTURE trial

INTRODUCTION

Postoperative renal function decline is a major concern for thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) and endovascular abdominal aortic repair (EVAR). Diluting contrast medium in the power injector may be helpful in reducing the risk of contrast-induced nephropathy, but it can also blur fluoroscopic vision during surgery. The quality of the current evidence is very low; thus, this study is designed to investigate the effect of contrast dilution in the power injector on renal function changes in patients after endovascular aortic repair.

METHOD AND ANALYSIS

The study is a prospective, single-blind, parallel, non-inferiority, randomised controlled trial with two independent cohorts: Cohort TEVAR and EVAR. Individuals will enter the appropriate cohort based on clinical interviews if they meet the eligibility criteria. Participants in Cohort TEVAR and EVAR will be randomly allocated to the intervention group (diluting contrast medium to 50% in the power injector) and control group (pure contrast medium in the power injector) separately in a 1:1 ratio. The primary study points consist of the proportion of patients who develop acute kidney injury within 48 hours after TEAVR or EVAR (first stage) and freedom of major adverse kidney events at 12 months after TEAVR or EVAR (second stage). The safety endpoint is freedom of all types of endoleaks at 30 days after TEVAR or EVAR. Follow-up will be conducted at 30 days and 12 months after intervention.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The trial was approved by the Ethics Committee on Biomedical Research, West China Hospital of Sichuan University (approval number: 20201290). The results of the study will be disseminated through publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at academic conferences.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2100042555).

Strategies for post–cardiac surgery acute kidney injury prevention: A network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Objects

Cardiac surgery is associated with acute kidney injury (AKI). However, the effects of various pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies for AKI prevention have not been thoroughly investigated, and their effectiveness in preventing AKI-related adverse outcomes has not been systematically evaluated.

Methods

Studies from PubMed, Embase, and Medline and registered trials from published through December 2021 that evaluated strategies for preventing post–cardiac surgery AKI were identified. The effectiveness of these strategies was assessed through a network meta-analysis (NMA). The secondary outcomes were prevention of dialysis-requiring AKI, mortality, intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS), and hospital LOS. The interventions were ranked using the P-score method. Confidence in the results of the NMA was assessed using the Confidence in NMA (CINeMA) framework.

Results

A total of 161 trials (involving 46,619 participants) and 53 strategies were identified. Eight pharmacological strategies {natriuretic peptides [odds ratio (OR): 0.30, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.19–0.47], nitroprusside [OR: 0.29, 95% CI: 0.12–0.68], fenoldopam [OR: 0.36, 95% CI: 0.17–0.76], tolvaptan [OR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.14–0.90], N-acetyl cysteine with carvedilol [OR: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.16–0.85], dexmedetomidine [OR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.32–0.76;], levosimendan [OR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.37–0.84], and erythropoietin [OR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.41–0.94]} and one non-pharmacological intervention (remote ischemic preconditioning, OR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.63–0.92) were associated with a lower incidence of post–cardiac surgery AKI with moderate to low confidence. Among these nine strategies, five (fenoldopam, erythropoietin, natriuretic peptides, levosimendan, and remote ischemic preconditioning) were associated with a shorter ICU LOS, and two (natriuretic peptides [OR: 0.30, 95% CI: 0.15–0.60] and levosimendan [OR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.49–0.95]) were associated with a lower incidence of dialysis-requiring AKI. Natriuretic peptides were also associated with a lower risk of mortality (OR: 0.50, 95% CI: 0.29–0.86). The results of a sensitivity analysis support the robustness and effectiveness of natriuretic peptides and dexmedetomidine.

Conclusion

Nine potentially effective strategies were identified. Natriuretic peptide therapy was the most effective pharmacological strategy, and remote ischemic preconditioning was the only effective non-pharmacological strategy. Preventive strategies might also help prevent AKI-related adverse outcomes. Additional studies are required to explore the optimal dosages and protocols for potentially effective AKI prevention strategies.

Contrast-induced nephropathy in non-cardiac vascular procedures, a narrative review: Part 1

Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is an important complication of iodinated contrast medium (CM) administration, which is associated with both short- and long-term adverse outcomes (e.g., cardiorenal events, longer hospital stay, and mortality). CIN has been mainly studied in relation to cardiac procedures, but it can also occur following non-cardiac vascular interventions. This is Part 1 of a narrative review summarizing the available literature on CIN after non-cardiac vascular diagnostic or therapeutic procedures for aortic aneurysm and carotid stenosis. We discuss the definition, pathophysiology, incidence, risk factors, biomarkers, and consequences of CIN in these settings, as well as preventive strategies and alternatives to limit iodinated CM use. Physicians and vascular surgeons should be aware of CM-related adverse events and the potential strategies to avoid them. Clearly, more research in this important field is required.

Early prediction of acute kidney injury biomarkers after endovascular stent graft repair of aortic aneurysm: a prospective observational study

BACKGROUND

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and serious condition usually detected some time after onset by changes in serum creatinine (sCr). Although stent grafting to repair aortic aneurysms is associated with AKI caused by surgical procedures or the use of contrast agents, early biomarkers for AKI have not been adequately examined in stent graft recipients. We studied biomarkers including urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), blood NGAL, N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase (NAG), microalbumin (Alb), and liver fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) as prospective early biomarkers for AKI in patients who had received stent graft repairs of aortic aneurysms.

METHODS

In addition to pre-surgical sampling, at 2 to 6 h and at 1, 3 to 4, and 5 days or later (until stable) after surgery, urine and serum biomarkers were sampled from 47 patients who underwent stent graft repair of aortic aneurysms.

RESULTS

Using Acute Kidney Injury Network criteria, 6 (14%) of 42 retained patients developed AKI. NGAL corrected with urine Cr (NGAL/Cr) values demonstrated the best predictive value for AKI (97% specificity, 83% sensitivity at a 65.1 μg/gCr cutoff). The area under the receiver-operator characteristic curve of NGAL/Cr value 2 h after surgery was 0.9. Although NGAL/Cr, L-FABP corrected with urine Cr (L-FABP/Cr), L-FABP, NAG, and Alb corrected by urine Cr (Alb/Cr) all reached peak values before AKI detection by sCr in AKI patients, all biomarkers reached the cutoff value before AKI detection after adaption of cutoff value.

CONCLUSIONS

After stent graft repair of aortic aneurysm, NGAL/Cr is a potentially useful early biomarker for AKI.