WASHINGTON—Aspirin taken for five days before a heart operation can halve the numbers of patients developing post-operative acute kidney failure, a new research has revealed.
In a study of 3,219 patients, pre-operative aspirin therapy was associated with a reduction in acute renal failure of about three in every 100 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), valve surgery or both, said Professor Jianzhong Sun, MD, PhD, attending anaesthesiologist and professor at Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University.
The patients were divided into two groups: those taking aspirin within five days before their operation (2,247 patients) and those not taking it (972 patients) [1]. Although the researchers had no record of the precise dose taken, doses of between 80-325mg per day is the normal dose for aspirin that is taken over a period of time.
After adjusting their results for various differing characteristics such as age, disease, and other medications, the researchers found that pre-operative aspirin was associated with a significant decrease in the incidence of post-operative kidney failure: acute renal failure occurred in 86 out of 2247 patients taking aspirin, and in 65 out of 972 patients not taking it. This represented an approximate halving in the risk of acute renal failure.
