Perioperative Intravenous Amino Acid Infusion in Major Urologic Surgery

Post-operative acute kidney injury (PO-AKI) is a serious complication that may occur after major abdominal surgery. The administration of intravenous perioperative amino acids (AAs) has been proven to increase kidney function and has some beneficial effects to prevent PO-AKI. The aim of this study was to establish if the perioperative infusion of AAs may reduce the incidence of PO-AKI in patients undergoing major urological minimally invasive surgery. From a total of 331 patients, the first 169 received perioperative crystalloid fluids and the following 162 received perioperative AA infusions. PO-AKIs were much higher in the crystalloid group compared to the AA group (34 vs. 17, p = 0.022) due to a lower incidence of KDIGO I and II in the AA group (14 vs. 30 p = 0.016). The AA group patients who developed a PO-AKI presented more risk factors compared to those who did not (2 (2-4) vs. 1 (1-2), p = 0.031) with a cut-off of 3 risk factors in the ROC curve (p = 0.007, sensitivity 47%, specificity 83%). The hospital length of stay was higher in the crystalloid group (p < 0.05) with a consequent saving in hospital costs. Perioperative AA infusion may help reduce the incidence of PO-AKI after major urological minimally invasive surgery.