Authors: Coppolino G, Presta P, Saturno L, Fuiano G
Abstract
The incidence of postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing cardiac surgery ranges from 7.7% to 28.1% in different studies, probably in relation to the criteria adopted to define AKI. AKI markedly increases mortality risk. However, despite the development of less invasive techniques, cardiac surgery remains the first option in many conditions such as severe coronary artery disease, valve diseases and complex interventions. The risk of postsurgery AKI can be reduced by adopting less invasive approaches, such as off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting or transcatheter aortic valve implantation, but these options cannot be employed in all cases. Thus, since traditional cardiac surgery remains the only op...