Perioperative statin use and acute kidney injury in patients undergoing partial nephrectomy

Background: Statin use is widespread among the general population. Data suggest a potentially beneficial effect of statin therapy on renal function following surgery. The impact of statins on post-partial nephrectomy (PN) renal function is unknown. We hypothesized that perioperative statin use may be associated with reduced rates of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing PN. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of perioperative statin use on AKI rates in patients undergoing PN. Materials & Methods: 1,056 patients undergoing PN were identified from a prospectively-maintained institutional renal mass database. Exclusion criteria included lack of preoperative serum creatinine (Cr), concurrent surgeries, and those with baseline Cr <0.4. The binary outcome was AKI, defined using modified Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria. Chi-Square and Cochran-Armitage trend tests were used to evaluate the strength of associations. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to determine predictors of AKI. Results: Statin use was reported by n = 346 (32.8%) patients at the time of surgery. Univariate analysis demonstrated that statin use was associated with an increased risk of AKI following PN (OR 1.38, CI 1.01-1.88, p = 0.04). On multivariate analysis, statin use was no longer associated with AKI following PN (OR 1.09, CI 0.76-1.56, p = 0.65). Gender, BMI, comorbidity index, hypertension, surgical approach, ischemia temperature/time, and nephrometry “R” score were all independently associated with AKI. Conclusions: Perioperative statin use at the time of PN was not associated with rates of post-operative AKI. Prospective studies are needed to elucidate the effects of statins on functional outcomes following PN.