The effect of ulinastatin on acute kidney injury in patients undergoing off-pump cardiac bypass surgery

Abstract

Background: Ulinastatin, an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant trypsin inhibitor, has shown potential in mitigating acute kidney injury (AKI) and reducing serum creatinine levels after various surgeries. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the effects of ulinastatin on AKI in patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery. Methods: We hypothesized that the administration of ulinastatin could prevent AKI in OPCAB. Electrical medical records were reviewed to identify OPCAB patients between January 2015 and June 2020. The utilization of ulinastatin was randomly determined and applied during this period. Acute kidney injury was defined according to the KDIGO guideline, and its incidence was compared between the ulinastatin administration group and the control group. To investigate the effect of ulinastatin on renal function, multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to calculate propensity scores for each group. Results: A total 454 OPCAB were performed, and after following inclusion and exclusion process, 100 patients were identified in the ulinastatin group and 303 patients in the control group. Using 1:2 propensity score matching, we analyzed 100 and 200 patients in the ulinastatin and control groups. The incidence of AKI was similar between the groups (2.5% for the control group, 2.0% for the ulinastatin group, p > 0.999). However, the serum creatinine value on the first post-operative day were significantly lower in the ulinastatin group compared to the control group (0.774 ± 0.179 mg/dL vs 0.823 ± 0.216 mg/dL, P = 0.040), while no significant differences were observed for the other time points (P > 0.05). The length of ICU stay day was significantly shorter in the ulinastatin group (2.91 ± 2.81 day vs 5.22 ± 7.45 day, respectively, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Ulinastatin did not have a significant effect on the incidence of AKI; it demonstrated the ability to reduce post-operative serum creatine levels at first post-operative day and shorten the length of ICU stay.