Changes and Implications of Serum Uric Acid Levels After Living-Donor Nephrectomy

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in and implications of preoperative and postoperative serum uric acid levels in patients with living donor nephrectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 207 patients between 1998 and 2007 at our hospital undergoing living-donor nephrectomy for kidney transplantation. The serum uric acid level and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were measured preoperatively and at 1 year postoperatively. We also analyzed multiple independent variables such as age, sex, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), serum total cholesterol, hemoglobin, hematocrit, total protein, albumin, calcium, and phosphorus. RESULTS: The mean age of the study patients was 38.3+/-10.8 years. The mean serum uric acid concentration at 1 year after kidney donation was higher than preoperatively (5.05+/-1.39 mg/dl preoperatively vs. 5.85+/-1.14 mg/dl postoperatively) and was significantly greater in patients with hyperuricemia (uric acid> or =6.8 mg/dl) than in patients without hyperuricemia (uric acid or =5.7 mg/dl) require careful observation before and after living-donor nephrectomy.