Objective: To investigate the clinical significance of R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry score for renal neoplasms in patients undergoing nephron sparing surgery.
Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of clinical data of 110 patients with renal neoplasms undergoing nephron sparing surgery, who were admitted to Peking University First Hospital from January 2010 to January 2012. The operation approaches, perioperative variables and perioperative complications as well as R.E.N.A.L. scores were compared.
Results: The R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry score was significantly associated with the operation approach (P<0.001), while there was no significant association between the scoring system and the occurrence of complications (P<0.611). Meanwhile, it was associated with ischemia time (P<0.023) and percentage change in the creatinine level (P<0.025). Low complexity tumors had significantly shorter ischemia time and low percentage change in the creatinine level than high complexity tumors (P<0.008, P<0.010). Fleiss' generalized kappa was 0.52 to 0.89 for the R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry components.
Conclusion: The R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry score is a comprehensive assessment tool for delineating renal tumor anatomy. The reproducibility of R.E.N.A.L. nephrometry scores is substantial, but further research is required to evaluate its performance in predicting operative outcomes more accurately.