IV Amino Acids Administration Reduces Perioperative Acute Kidney Injury Risk, States study

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent and serious complication during the perioperative period that affects multiple patients undergoing surgery. Despite the considerable impact of AKI on patient outcomes, no single intervention has been universally effective in preventing this condition. However, recent findings published in the Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia suggested that intravenous administration of amino acids (AA) may offer a promising approach to reduce the risk of AKI by recruiting renal functional reserve and preserving glomerular filtration rate during the perioperative period.

A comprehensive meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy of AA infusion in protecting renal function among perioperative patients. The analysis included 15 controlled studies, with a total of 4,544 patients, of which 4,084 patients were involved in studies specifically reporting on the primary outcome of interest (AKI) at the longest follow-up period.

The results of the meta-analysis revealed a significant reduction in the incidence of AKI among patients who received intravenous AA. Also, AKI was observed in 24.7% of patients who received AA when compared to 30.1% of the participants in the control group. This corresponded to a relative risk reduction (RR) of 0.66 (95% CI, 0.47 to 0.94; I2 = 50%; p = 0.02) which suggested a 34% decrease in the likelihood of developing AKI with AA administration. The probability of this reduction was calculated to be 99.1% by indicating a high likelihood that AA infusion offers a protective effect against AKI.