Renal perfusion in complex abdominal aortic aneurysm open repair: a scoping review

To perform a scoping review analyzing the current evidence reporting on acute kidney injury (AKI) after elective open surgery (OS) of complex abdominal aortic aneurysms (c-AAAs) and evaluate the impact of renal perfusion, and the different types of solutions on renal morbidity.

Research questions were defined, and a literature search was performed following the PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews. Multicenter, single-center observational studies were considered eligible. No abstracts only and unpublished literature were included.

Two hundred and fifty studies were screened, 20 studies met screening criteria and were included, reporting 1552 patients treated for c-AAAs. The majority did not receive renal perfusion and the others received different types of renal perfusions. Acute kidney injury is a common complication after c-AAAs OS, with an incidence up to 32.5%. Heterogeneity in AKI classifications reduce the ability to compare outcomes after perfusion and nonperfusion strategies. Pre-existing CKD, ischemic injury due to suprarenal aortic clamping are major determinants of AKI after aortic surgery. Most papers reported chronic kidney disease (CKD) at admission. Another debated topic is the indication for renal perfusion during c-AAAs OS. Controversial results for cold renal perfusion have been found.

In the context of c-AAAs, this review identified the need to standardize the definition of AKI to reduce reporting bias. Besides this, it showed the need to assess the indication for renal perfusion and the type of perfusion solution to be used.