Kidney failure following heart surgery is one of the main causes of postoperative deaths, with previous research finding mortality rates of up to 50% after surgery. Postoperative kidney failure also has been shown to potentially affect short- and long-term patient outcomes. "While the relationship between poor kidney function and worse outcomes after heart surgery has been well established, the ability to predict the impact of preoperative renal insufficiency on hospital costs and healthcare resource utilization was unknown," said Damien J. LaPar, MD, from the University of Virginia ...