Adverse renal outcomes following endovascular or open repair of infra-renal and supra-renal abdominal aortic aneurysms: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Introduction This study aims to quantify the risk of permanent renal dialysis for AAA repair, with comparison between endovascular (EVAR) and open repair (OAR) techniques for suprarenal (SR) and infrarenal (IR) AAA. Methods Systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of post-operative, permanent dialysis outcomes were performed, following PRISMA guidance (Prospero registration: CRD42021272422). Database searches were conducted on MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL using ProQuest Dialog. We included data published after 2011, reporting primary elective AAA repair, for a minimum of 100 patients with >75% of operations undertaken after January 1, 2000. Results Seventy-nine studies (IR AAAs: 54877 EVAR & 7145; SR AAAs: 4241 EVAR & 1723 OAR) were included (n=67986). Overall, low rates of permanent dialysis were reported: 0.35% of IR-EVAR, 0.68% IR-OAR, 0.82% SR-EVAR, and 0.59% SR-OAR. No significant difference in the risk of permanent dialysis for endovascular and open repair was observed (EVAR vs. OAR: odds ratio (OR) 0.52 95% CI[.06, 4.78], for IR, 2.14 [.46, 10.05], for SR). A lower risk of permanent dialysis was observed for IR vs. SR EVAR (OR .05 [0, .46]). Meta-regression indicated that post-operative permanent dialysis decreased over time as determined by study midpoint for IR-EVAR and IR-OAR. For IR-OAR, increased dialysis rates were significantly associated with study participants’ ages. Conclusion The rate of permanent dialysis <1% for all modalities of SR and IR AAA repair. For EVAR, the risk of dialysis was higher for SR compared to IR AAA. The likelihood of permanent dialysis has decreased with modern practice yet increases among older patients.