Stage of chronic kidney disease is an outcome-predicting factor of angioplasty for atheromatous renal artery stenosis

Angioplasty with insertion of an endoprosthesis is an effective treatment for atheromatous renal artery stenosis (ARAS). However, this procedure may cause deterioration in renal function, and it is imperative to define the cases that could benefit from angioplasty. From 456 suspected renovascular hypertension cases, 33 were given a diagnosis of unilateral ARAS on renal arteriography. These unilateral ARAS cases were treated by angioplasty, and their baseline variables were evaluated with respect to the improvement achieved in post-angioplastic renal function of the treated side as measured by renal scintigram. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was the only variable that was significantly different between cases that showed improvement in renal function and those that did not. Cases that showed improvement in renal function had lower pre-angioplasty eGFR compared with cases that did not show improvement (59±24 ml min^-1 1.73 m^-2 vs. 76±12 ml min^-1 1.7±3 m^-2, P<0.04), and cases showing improvement were generally at later stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Most patients without improvement, who were generally at earlier stages of CKD, had a systemic blood pressure reduction after angioplasty. The present findings indicate that the baseline CKD stage could be used to predict the outcome of angioplasty for ARAS.