Evaluation of post-operative complications and prolonged length of stay following cytoreductive nephrectomy.

Abstract

420 Background: Cytoreductive nephrectomy (CN) has been associated with significant morbidity, but there is little data identifying patients at increased risk. We evaluated the association of clinicopathologic features with early post-operative complications and prolonged length of stay (pLOS) among CN patients. Methods: We identified 294 patients treated with radical nephrectomy for M1 renal cell carcinoma between 1990 and 2009 at the Mayo Clinic. All complications within 30 days of surgery were reported using standardized methodology according to the Clavien classification. Associations with the presence of any early complication and pLOS (defined as ≥8 days, the top 25th percentile) were evaluated using logistic regression models. Results: Thirty-five (12%) patients experienced at least one early complication and 15 (5%) patients experienced at least one Clavien grade ≥3 early complication. The median LOS was 6 days (IQR 5-7), and 68 (23%) patients had a pLOS. On univariate analysis, liver metastases, symptomatic presentation, intraoperative transfusion, and pathologic nodal stage were significantly associated with both early complications and pLOS (Table). Two multivariate models were constructed. In Model 1 (limited to pre-operative features), only liver metastases (p<0.01) were associated with early complications while liver metastases (p=0.01) and open approach (p=0.02) were associated with pLOS. In Model 2 (all variables included), liver metastases (p=0.01), intraoperative transfusion (p<0.01), and high nuclear grade (p<0.01) were associated with early complications while intraoperative transfusion (p<0.01) and positive nodes (p=0.05) were associated with pLOS. Conclusions: CN was associated with a low incidence of early post-operative complications, particularly Clavien ≥3 complications. Presence of liver metastases and intraoperative transfusion were independently associated with increased risk of both complications and pLOS. [Table: see text]