Texas Heart Institute journal
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We sought to determine, retrospectively, whether obesity was associated with adverse renal outcomes in 17,630 patients who underwent cardiac surgery from January 1995 through December 2006. Obesity was defined as a body mass index > or = 30 kg/m2. The primary outcome was any episode of postoperative renal insufficiency (requiring or not requiring dialysis) before hospital discharge. ⋯ Obesity was associated with an increased risk of postoperative renal insufficiency in patients undergoing isolated CABG (OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.18-1.61), isolated valve surgeries (OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.05-1.85), and combined CABG and valve surgeries (OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 0.99-1.83; statistically nonsignificant). Development of postoperative renal insufficiency was associated with a significantly higher mortality rate (P <0.0001) and with a significantly longer hospital stay (23 vs 10.5 days; P <0.0001). We conclude that obesity is associated with a significant increase in postoperative renal insufficiency in cardiac surgery patients, an effect that we attribute to an increase in postoperative renal failure that does not require dialysis.