Abstract :
[en] Introduction: Delayed graft function (DGF) occurs more frequently in kidney transplants from donation after cardiac death (DCD) than from donation after brain death (DBD). We investigated the effect of DGF on post-transplant outcomes in controlled DCD kidney grafts. Patients and Methods: This single-center retrospective study recruited 80 controlled DCD kidney allo- grafts which have been performed at the University Hospital of Sart Tilman, University of Liège, from Jan 2005 to Dec 2011.
Results: Mean patient follow-up was 28.5 months. No primary non-function grafts were encountered. DGF rate was 36%. Overall graft survivals between groups with and without DGF were 92.4% and 95.1% at 1 year, 92.4% and 91.7% at 3 years, and 84.7% and 91.7% at 5 years (p=ns), respectively. Patients with and without DGF had the same survival rates at the corresponding time points (92.4% and 97.1%, 92.4% and 93.7%, and 84.7% and 93.7%, p=ns, respectively). Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was significantly lower in DGF group compared to non-DGF group at hospital discharge (29 vs 42 ml/min, p=0.001) and up to 1 year post-transplant (46 vs 53 ml/min, p=0.045), but the differ- ence disappeared afterwards (50 vs 48 ml/min at 3 years, and 54 vs 53 ml/min at 5 years, p=ns). DGF did not increase the risk of acute rejection or surgical complications. 29.6% of recipients with DGF de- veloped acute rejection (biopsy-proven rejection and clinically suspected rejection) compared with 29.2% of recipients without DGF (p=ns). The rate of all surgical complications was 33.3% and 25% in recipients with and without DGF (p=ns). However, DGF prolonged significantly the length of hospitaliza- tion in DGF than non-DGF group (18.9 vs 13 days, p=0.000). Donor BMI 30 kg/m2 30 kg/m2 and pre-transplant dialysis duration increased the risk of DGF in a multivariate logistic regression analysis.
Conclusions: Apart from longer hospital stay, DGF had no deleterious impact on the future of DCD kidney allografts. Comparable graft and patient survival, renal function, rejection rate and surgical com- plications were observed between groups with and without DGF.
