Impact of hyperbilirubinemia associated acute kidney injury on chronic kidney disease after aortic arch surgery: a retrospective study with follow-up of 1-year

Abstract

Abstract Background Hyperbilirubinemia (HB) is a serious complication in aortic arch surgery, which is associated with acute kidney injury (AKI). The association between HB and chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of HB associated AKI on CKD after aortic arch surgery. Methods We reviewed 284 patients who underwent aortic arch surgery from 2016 to 2020 in our hospital. AKI was defined as a 50% increase in sCr from baseline value within the first 7 postoperative days. HB was defined as total bilirubin > 51.3 μmol/L. Patients were divided into 3 groups based on AKI and HB: HB associated AKI (HB-AKI) group (AKI patients suffered HB within the first 7 postoperative days); AKI without HB group and Non-AKI group. Results Follow-up for 204 patients ranged from 3 to 12 months. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that the 1-year cumulative incidence of CKD was highest in HB-AKI (32.6%) than AKI without HB (17.8%) and Non-AKI (7.4%, log-rank test, p < 0.001), and the incidence of CKD was higher in HB group than that in Non-HB group (26.7% vs. 13.9%, log-rank test, p = 0.015). Preoperative sCr (HR 1.010, 95% CI 1.004–1.016, p = 0.001), AKI without HB (HR 2.887, 95% CI 1.133–7.354, p = 0.026) and HB-AKI (HR 4.490, 95% CI 1.59–12.933, p = 0.005) were associated with CKD during 1-year follow-up. Conclusions Patients suffering HB associated AKI were at more increased odds of CKD than patients suffering AKI without HB after aortic arch surgery.