Risk factors for postoperative acute kidney injury in major non-cardiac surgery: Systematic review with meta-analysis

Identifying risk factors for acute kidney injury (AKI) following major non-cardiac surgery is challenging due to heterogeneous findings and variable relevance across published studies. This complexity hinders the development of a standardised prognostic model.

A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted based on an extensive literature search (2002-2022) in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Central, LILACS, and Dart Europe. Studies were independently screened and selected, with extraction of relevant preoperative and intraoperative variables. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4.

Out of 533 studies, ten met inclusion criteria. Significant risk factors for postoperative AKI included diabetes mellitus (OR: 1.65, CI: 1.20-2.27), hypertension (OR: 1.86, CI: 1.36-2.54), ACE inhibitors or ARBs use (OR: 1.76, CI: 1.48-2.09), ischaemic heart disease (OR: 1.93, CI: 1.55-2.41), and male sex (OR: 1.28, CI: 1.07-1.53). Protective factors were female sex (OR: 0.72, CI: 0.54-0.96) and higher preoperative haemoglobin (MD: -0.41, CI: -0.52 to -0.30). Trends without statistical significance were noted for older age, low glomerular filtration rate, prolonged operative time, and higher serum creatinine.

Comorbidities and certain pharmacological treatments significantly elevate postoperative AKI risk. These findings underscore the need for vigilant preoperative risk stratification.PROSPERO registration:CRD420251111455.