Methods: Between October 2010 and July 2012, 42 consecutive patients (15 males, 27 females; mean age 77.7±6.3 years; range 58 to 91 years) who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation in a single center were retrospectively analyzed. Acute kidney injury was defined according to the second consensus report of the Valve Academic Research Consortium definitions. Baseline, peri- and post-procedural characteristics were compared between the patients with and without acute kidney injury.

Results: Fourteen patients (33.3%) patients developed acute kidney injury, and two of them (14.3%) required temporary hemodialysis. Twenty patients (47.6%) had chronic kidney disease before the procedure. The incidence of chronic kidney injury was 71.4% and 35.7% in the patients with and without acute kidney injury, respectively (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the baseline creatinine levels of the two groups. In multivariable analyses, independent predictors of post-procedural acute kidney injury were post-procedural abnormal leukocyte count (OR: 2.52; 95% CI: 1.17-5.42) and low platelet count (OR: 1.05; 95% CI: 1.01-1.10). The 30-day mortality was 11.9% in five patients. The mortality rate was higher in the patients with acute kidney injury than those without (28.6% vs 3.6%, p<0.05).

Conclusion: Acute kidney injury following transcatheter aortic valve implantation occurred in 33.3% of our patient population and was found to be associated with an increased 30-day mortality rate. We also found that post-procedural abnormal leukocyte count and low platelet count were the independent predictors of acute kidney injury.