Does Chronic Kidney Disease Really Affect the Complications and Prognosis After Liver Resection for Hepatocellular Carcinoma? A Meta-Analysis

Purpose: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to analyze whether chronic kidney disease (CKD) affected the complications and prognosis after liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Methods: The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched from inception to 22 February 2022 to find eligible studies. Complications, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) were collected, and this meta-analysis was performed with RevMan 5.3.

Results: A total of nine studies including 6,541 patients were included in this meta-analysis. After pooling all baseline information, the CKD group had a higher rate of Child-Pugh grade B than the Non-CKD group (OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.3 to 1.93, < 0.00001). As for surgery-related information, the CKD group had larger blood loss (MD = -404.79, 95% CI = -509.70 to -299.88, < 0.00001), and higher rate of blood transfusion (OR = 2.47, 95% CI = 1.85 to 3.3, < 0.00001). In terms of complications, the CKD group had a higher rate of overall complications (OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.57 to 2.81, < 0.00001) and a higher rate of ≥ grade III complications (OR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.57 to 2.81, = 0.0002). The CKD group had poor OS compared with the non-CKD group (HR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.1 to 1.49, = 0.001). However, in terms of DFS, no significant difference was found (HR = 1.11, 95% CI = 0.96 to 1.28, = 0.16).

Conclusion: Preexisting CKD was associated with higher ratio of complications and poor OS.