Percutaneous renal artery stenting reduces arterial blood pressure, but what about renal function? A single-center...

To assess the effects of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting (PTRA/S) on arterial blood pressure and renal function.

A retrospective chart review of patients undergoing PTRA/S at our institution between December 2003 and September 2006 was done. Follow-up data were derived from hospital records. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (EGFR) was used as the marker of renal function. To evaluate the pre- and post-procedure values in individual patients the paired t test and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used.

Thirty-six patients (16 women, 30 men; mean age 59+/-15 years, range: 25-83 years) underwent 43 PTRA/S interventions at our institution. The mean duration of follow-up was 9.3+/-8.6 (range 2-28) months. We observed no significant change in EGFR from pre-procedure to that obtained at follow-up (71.4+/-40.2 mL/min vs.73.3+/-39.0 mL/min; p=0.483). Mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), however, was reduced significantly: pre-procedure MABP-123+/-22 mmHg; post-procedure follow-up value of 101+/-14 mmHg (p<0.001). The mean number of antihypertensive medications used at the time of intervention was 2.1+/-1.0 (range: 0-4), whereas at follow-up, this number had decreased to 1.3+/-1.0 (range: 0-4; p<0.001). In patients with renal impairment (EGFR < or =59 mL/min), 41% showed improvement, 29% showed no change and 29% demonstrated deterioration in EGFR.

PTRA/S may preserve renal function, especially in patients with pre-procedural impaired renal function.