diff --git a/pkg/kvcache/indexer.go b/pkg/kvcache/indexer.go
index ebe1e86..0eec0e8 100644
--- a/pkg/kvcache/indexer.go
+++ b/pkg/kvcache/indexer.go
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ func (k *Indexer) GetPodScores(ctx context.Context, prompt, modelName string,
 	traceLogger.Info("found tokens", "tokens", tokens, "block-keys", blockKeys)
 
 	// 3. query kvblock indexer for pods
-	strBlockKeys, keyToPods, err := k.kvBlockIndex.Lookup(ctx, blockKeys, sets.New(podIdentifiers...))
+	keyToPods, err := k.kvBlockIndex.Lookup(ctx, blockKeys, sets.New(podIdentifiers...))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to query kvblock indexer: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ func (k *Indexer) GetPodScores(ctx context.Context, prompt, modelName string,
 		"pods", podsPerKeyPrintHelper(keyToPods))
 
 	// 4. score pods
-	podScores, err := k.kvBlockScorer.Score(strBlockKeys, keyToPods)
+	podScores, err := k.kvBlockScorer.Score(blockKeys, keyToPods)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to query kvblock scorer: %w", err)
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/common_test.go b/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/common_test.go
index b4aa110..28488ed 100644
--- a/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/common_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/common_test.go
@@ -39,9 +39,9 @@ func testAddBasic(t *testing.T, index kvblock.Index) {
 	assert.NoError(t, err)
 
 	// Lookup after add
-	hitKeys, podsPerKey, err := index.Lookup(t.Context(), []kvblock.Key{key}, sets.Set[string]{})
+	podsPerKey, err := index.Lookup(t.Context(), []kvblock.Key{key}, sets.Set[string]{})
 	assert.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Len(t, hitKeys, 1)
-	assert.Equal(t, key, hitKeys[0])
+	assert.Len(t, podsPerKey, 1)
+	assert.Contains(t, podsPerKey, key)
 	assert.Equal(t, podsPerKey[key], []string{"10.0.0.1", "10.0.0.2"})
 }
diff --git a/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/in_memory.go b/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/in_memory.go
index b8508b9..4e0f7d5 100644
--- a/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/in_memory.go
+++ b/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/in_memory.go
@@ -89,14 +89,13 @@ type PodCache struct {
 // If the podIdentifierSet is empty, all pods are returned.
 //
 // It returns:
-// 1. A slice of the hit keys.
-// 2. A map where the keys are those in (1) and the values are pod-identifiers.
-// 3. An error if any occurred during the operation.
+// 1. A map where the keys are those in (1) and the values are pod-identifiers.
+// 2. An error if any occurred during the operation.
 func (m *InMemoryIndex) Lookup(ctx context.Context, keys []Key,
 	podIdentifierSet sets.Set[string],
-) ([]Key, map[Key][]string, error) {
+) (map[Key][]string, error) {
 	if len(keys) == 0 {
-		return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("no keys provided for lookup")
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("no keys provided for lookup")
 	}
 
 	traceLogger := klog.FromContext(ctx).V(logging.TRACE).WithName("kvblock.InMemoryIndex.Lookup")
@@ -108,7 +107,7 @@ func (m *InMemoryIndex) Lookup(ctx context.Context, keys []Key,
 		if pods, found := m.data.Get(key); found { //nolint:nestif // TODO: can this be optimized?
 			if pods == nil || pods.cache.Len() == 0 {
 				traceLogger.Info("no pods found for key, cutting search", "key", key)
-				return keys[:idx], podsPerKey, nil // early stop since prefix-chain breaks here
+				return podsPerKey, nil // early stop since prefix-chain breaks here
 			}
 
 			highestHitIdx = idx
@@ -135,7 +134,7 @@ func (m *InMemoryIndex) Lookup(ctx context.Context, keys []Key,
 	traceLogger.Info("lookup completed", "highest-hit-index", highestHitIdx,
 		"pods-per-key", podsPerKeyPrintHelper(podsPerKey))
 
-	return keys[:highestHitIdx+1], podsPerKey, nil
+	return podsPerKey, nil
 }
 
 // Add adds a set of keys and their associated pod entries to the index backend.
diff --git a/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/index.go b/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/index.go
index 03c390a..7930667 100644
--- a/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/index.go
+++ b/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/index.go
@@ -107,10 +107,9 @@ type Index interface {
 	// If the podIdentifierSet is empty, all pods are returned.
 	//
 	// It returns:
-	// 1. A slice of the hit keys.
-	// 2. A map where the keys are those in (1) and the values are pod-identifiers.
-	// 3. An error if any occurred during the operation.
-	Lookup(ctx context.Context, keys []Key, podIdentifierSet sets.Set[string]) ([]Key, map[Key][]string, error)
+	// 1. A map where the keys are those in (1) and the values are pod-identifiers.
+	// 2. An error if any occurred during the operation.
+	Lookup(ctx context.Context, keys []Key, podIdentifierSet sets.Set[string]) (map[Key][]string, error)
 	// Add adds a set of keys and their associated pod entries to the index backend.
 	Add(ctx context.Context, keys []Key, entries []PodEntry) error
 	// Evict removes a key and its associated pod entries from the index backend.
diff --git a/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/instrumented_index.go b/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/instrumented_index.go
index 064a9a3..37e09c3 100644
--- a/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/instrumented_index.go
+++ b/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/instrumented_index.go
@@ -34,14 +34,13 @@ func (m *instrumentedIndex) Lookup(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	keys []Key,
 	podIdentifierSet sets.Set[string],
-) ([]Key, map[Key][]string, error) {
+) (map[Key][]string, error) {
 	timer := prometheus.NewTimer(metrics.LookupLatency)
 	defer timer.ObserveDuration()
 
 	metrics.LookupRequests.Inc()
 
-	hitKeys, pods, err := m.next.Lookup(ctx, keys, podIdentifierSet)
-	metrics.LookupHits.Add(float64(len(hitKeys)))
+	pods, err := m.next.Lookup(ctx, keys, podIdentifierSet)
 
-	return hitKeys, pods, err
+	return pods, err
 }
diff --git a/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/instrumented_index_test.go b/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/instrumented_index_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..01baa2a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/instrumented_index_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2025 The llm-d Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+	http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package kvblock_test
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/llm-d/llm-d-kv-cache-manager/pkg/kvcache/kvblock"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+)
+
+func TestNewInstrumentedIndex(t *testing.T) {
+	// Create base index
+	baseIndex, err := kvblock.NewInMemoryIndex(nil)
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// Wrap with instrumentation
+	instrumented := kvblock.NewInstrumentedIndex(baseIndex)
+	assert.NotNil(t, instrumented)
+
+	// Verify it implements Index interface
+	assert.Implements(t, (*kvblock.Index)(nil), instrumented)
+}
+
+func TestInstrumentedIndexBasicFunctionality(t *testing.T) {
+	// Create instrumented index
+	baseIndex, err := kvblock.NewInMemoryIndex(nil)
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	instrumented := kvblock.NewInstrumentedIndex(baseIndex)
+
+	// Test that basic functionality still works through the wrapper
+	testAddBasic(t, instrumented)
+}
diff --git a/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/redis.go b/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/redis.go
index 144957f..41689c6 100644
--- a/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/redis.go
+++ b/pkg/kvcache/kvblock/redis.go
@@ -80,14 +80,13 @@ var _ Index = &RedisIndex{}
 // If the podIdentifierSet is empty, all pods are returned.
 //
 // It returns:
-// 1. A slice of the hit keys.
-// 2. A map where the keys are those in (1) and the values are pod-identifiers.
-// 3. An error if any occurred during the operation.
+// 1. A map where the keys are those in (1) and the values are pod-identifiers.
+// 2. An error if any occurred during the operation.
 func (r *RedisIndex) Lookup(ctx context.Context, keys []Key,
 	podIdentifierSet sets.Set[string],
-) ([]Key, map[Key][]string, error) {
+) (map[Key][]string, error) {
 	if len(keys) == 0 {
-		return nil, nil, nil
+		return make(map[Key][]string), nil
 	}
 
 	logger := klog.FromContext(ctx).WithName("kvblock.RedisIndex.Lookup")
@@ -105,11 +104,10 @@ func (r *RedisIndex) Lookup(ctx context.Context, keys []Key,
 
 	_, execErr := pipe.Exec(ctx)
 	if execErr != nil {
-		return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("redis pipeline execution failed: %w", execErr)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("redis pipeline execution failed: %w", execErr)
 	}
 
 	filterPods := len(podIdentifierSet) > 0 // predicate for filtering
-	highestHitIdx := 0
 
 	for idx, cmd := range results {
 		key := keys[idx]
@@ -121,7 +119,7 @@ func (r *RedisIndex) Lookup(ctx context.Context, keys []Key,
 				logger.Error(cmdErr, "failed to get pods for key", "key", key)
 			}
 
-			return keys[:idx], podsPerKey, nil // early stop since prefix-chain breaks here
+			return podsPerKey, nil // early stop since prefix-chain breaks here
 		}
 
 		var filteredPods []string
@@ -134,14 +132,13 @@ func (r *RedisIndex) Lookup(ctx context.Context, keys []Key,
 
 		if len(filteredPods) == 0 {
 			logger.Info("no pods found for key, cutting search", "key", key)
-			return keys[:idx], podsPerKey, nil // early stop since prefix-chain breaks here
+			return podsPerKey, nil // early stop since prefix-chain breaks here
 		}
 
-		highestHitIdx = idx
 		podsPerKey[key] = filteredPods
 	}
 
-	return keys[:highestHitIdx+1], podsPerKey, nil
+	return podsPerKey, nil
 }
 
 // Add adds a set of keys and their associated pod entries to the index backend.