Curcumin to Prevent Complications After Elective Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Repair

An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a ballooning of the abdominal aorta, the major blood vessel of the body. AAA occurs in up to 2% of adults. Surgeons will plan an AAA repair when the aneurysm grows bigger than 5.5cm, because the AAA might burst without repair. Over 47,000 AAA repairs are performed each year. Despite the benefits of AAA repair there are risks, and the kidneys can be severely injured. We will test whether the natural health product curcumin has an effect on biomarkers of inflammation, kidney injury and heart injury from AAA repair. Curcumin appears to fight oxidation and inflammation, which are ways that the body can be injured by surgery. We will study 600 patients who have elective AAA repair. The patients will receive either curcumin or a matching placebo. We will recruit the 600 patients from 10 centres in Ontario. This study will help us determine whether curcumin exerts any biological effect on biomarkers and whether it is well tolerated. If there is evidence of beneficial effects in this 600 patient trial, this will justify a future larger trial to assess the effects of curcumin on outcomes most important to patients, families and their healthcare providers.

Inclusion criteria

• Elective repair of an AAA (excludes thoracic or thoracoabdominal aneurysms)
• 18 years of age or older
• Able to provide informed consent
• Has one or more of the following criteria at time of preoperative assessment:
• x Open repair OR
• x Endovascular repair with ≥ 1 of the following criteria:
• o diabetes mellitus treated with insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents
• o age > 70 years
• o pre-existing renal impairment (baseline serum creatinine level >177 μmol/L for men or >146 μmol/L for women)
• If diabetic, is able and willing to collect and record glucose levels at home

Exclusion criteria

• emergent or urgent repair (repair < 3 days from pre-admission visit; ruptured AAA)
• prior renal transplantation
• pregnant or breastfeeding
• active gastrointestinal reflux disease, gastrointestinal ulcers or hepatobiliary disease (including gallstones)
• has active liver disease
• evidence of AKI (> 50% increase in serum creatinine) in the 30 days prior to repair
• enrolled in another randomized controlled trial
• receipt of ≥ 1 dialysis treatment in the past week
• previous participation in this trial
• repair is scheduled > 90 days from date of informed consent
• unable to provide written consent
• allergy(ies) to any member of the Zingiberaceae family: turmeric, ginger, curry, cumin, cardamom)
• allergy(ies) to ingredients of the study product or placebo: yellow or red food coloring, gelatin or cellulose
• have a history of major bleeding event in the previous 6 months
• bleeding disorders: a diagnosis of hemophilia, von Willebrand disease, platelets less than 70 for any reason
• history of hypoglycemia in the past 6 months: blood sugar less than or equal to 3.5 mmol/L