Associations of Perioperative Renal Oximetry Via Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, Urinary Biomarkers, and Postoperative Acute Kidney Injury in Infants After Congenital Heart Surgery: Should Creatinine Continue to Be the Gold Standard?

OBJECTIVES: Examine the relationship between perioperative renal regional tissue oximetry, urinary biomarkers, and acute kidney injury in infants after congenital cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

DESIGN: Prospective, observational.

SETTING: Cardiac operating room and cardiac ICU.

PATIENTS: Neonates and infants without history of kidney injury or anatomic renal abnormality.

INTERVENTIONS: None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Renal regional tissue oximetry was measured intraoperatively and for 48 hours postoperatively. Urinary levels of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2 together with insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 were measured preoperatively, 2, 12, and 24 hours postoperatively. Patients were categorized as no acute kidney injury, stage 1, or Stage 2-3 acute kidney injury using the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria with 43 of 70 (61%) meeting criteria for any stage acute kidney injury. Stage 2-3 acute kidney injury patients had higher tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 at 2 hours (0.3 vs 0.14 for stage 1 acute kidney injury and 0.05 for no acute kidney injury; p = 0.052) and 24 hours postoperatively (1.71 vs 0.27 for stage 1 acute kidney injury and 0.19 for no acute kidney injury, p = 0.027) and higher neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin levels at 24 hours postoperatively (10.3 vs 3.4 for stage 1 acute kidney injury and 6.2 for no acute kidney injury, p = 0.019). Stage 2-3 acute kidney injury patients had lower mean cardiac ICU renal regional tissue oximetry (66% vs 79% for stage 1 acute kidney injury and 84% for no acute kidney injury, p = 0.038). Regression analyses showed that tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 at 2 hours postoperatively and nadir intraoperative renal regional tissue oximetry to be independent predictors of postoperative kidney damage as measured by urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin.

CONCLUSIONS: We observed modest differences in perioperative renal regional tissue oximetry and urinary biomarker levels compared between acute kidney injury groups classified by creatinine-dependent Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria, but there were significant correlations between renal regional tissue oximetry, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7, and postoperative neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin levels. Kidney injury after infant cardiac surgery may be undetectable by functional assessment (creatinine) alone, and continuous monitoring of renal regional tissue oximetry may be more sensitive to important subclinical acute kidney injury.