Renal dysfunction is common after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. We have previously shown that CABG procedures complicated by stroke have a threefold greater peak serum creatinine level relative to uncomplicated surgery. However, postoperative creatinine patterns for procedures complicated by cognitive dysfunction are unknown. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that postoperative cognitive dysfunction is associated with acute perioperative renal injury after CABG surgery. Data were prospectively gathered for 282 elective CABG surgery patients. Psychometric tests were performed at baseline and 6 wk after surgery. Cognitive dysfunction was defined both as a dichotomous variable (cognitive deficit [CD]) and as a continuous variable (cognitive index). Forty percent of patients had CD at 6 wk. However, the association between peak percentage change in postoperative creatinine and CD (parameter estimate = -0.41; P = 0.91) or cognitive index (parameter estimate = -1.29; P = 0.46) was not significant. These data indicate that postcardiac surgery cognitive dysfunction, unlike stroke, is not associated with major increases in postoperative renal dysfunction.
Implications: We previously noted that patients with postcardiac surgery stroke also have greater acute renal injury than unaffected patients. However, in the same setting, we found no difference in renal injury between patients with and without cognitive dysfunction. Factors responsible for subtle postoperative cognitive dysfunction do not appear to be associated with clinically important renal effects.