The impact of pre-operative serum creatinine on short-term outcomes after liver resection

Background: The aim of the present study was to determine whether raised pre-operative serum creatinine increased the risk of renal failure after liver resection. Method: Data were studied from 1535 consecutive liver resections. Outcomes in patients with pre-operative creatinine <= 124 mu mol/l (Group 1) were compared with those with pre-operative creatinine >= 125 mu mol/l (Group 2). Results: The median age of the 1446 (94.3%) patients resected in Group 1 was 62 years compared with 67 years in the 88 (5.7%) patients in Group 2 (P < 0.0001). Similarly this latter group had double the number of patients who were American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) III or IV (34.1% vs. 15.2%, P = 0.00004). Overall, the incidence of post-operative renal failure requiring haemofiltration was low (0.9%) but significantly more in Group 2 patients (5.7% vs. 0.6, P = 0.0007). In addition, patients in Group 2 were more likely to suffer acute kidney injury post-operatively (18.2% vs. 4.3%, P < 0.0001). Patients with acute kidney injury had significantly higher blood loss. Although there was no difference in mortality, patients in Group 2 had higher post-operative morbidity (37.5%) than Group 1 (21.7%, P = 0.0006), with the incidence of cardiorespiratory complications being higher in Group 2 (25.9% vs. 8.9%, P = 0.0025). Conclusions: After liver resection, renal failure is rare but patients with an elevated creatinine pre-operatively are at an increased risk of both renal and non-renal complications.