Clinical Experience of 60 Pediatric Renal Transplantations at a Single Center / 소아과

PURPOSE: Renal transplantation for the management of end-stage renal disease(ESRD) in children is now the optimal treatment. We analyzed the clinical courses and characteristics of pediatric renal transplantation in Asan Medical Center. METHODS: We reviewed the charts of 60 cases of renal transplantation under the age of 18, admitted to Asan Medical Center, from Oct. 1990 to May 2003. We analyzed retrospectively to clarify the clinical courses, risk factors affecting graft survival, recurrence of the original disease, complications and growth. RESULTS: Graft was taken from 48 living donors, and 12 cadaveric donors. The mean age at transplantation was 13.1 years. The overall graft survival rates were 96.3% at one year, 84.4% at five year, 47.6% at 10 years. The overall patient survival rates were 98.1% at one year, 95.1% at five years, 95.1% at 10 years. A total of 13 grafts were lost(21.7%). The presence of acute rejection within one year after graft(P=0.0045) and recipient less than five years old(P=0.0027) were significant risk factors for poor graft survival. The recurrence rate of original disease was 8.3% and the most common complication was infection(50%). In the group less than 3 percentile of pretransplantation height, there were much longer duration of ESRD and much greater growth after transplantation(P=0.002). CONCLUSION: The graft survival rate for pediatric renal transplantation has been greatly increased, similar to those of adult renal transplantation with the development of operation techniques and immunosuppressants. Further studies into the factors improving graft survival and new immunosuppressants to reduce the rate of rejection, and efforts to reduce the incidence of infection, are needed at this time.

Experience with 129 Pediatric (<21 yr) Kidney Transplantations

BACKGROUND: Renal transplantation has become widely accepted as the treatment of choice for children with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Two important criteria for successful pediatric renal transplantation are achievement of optimal growth, developement, and possession of a long functioning renal transplant. METHODS: In order to establish better strategies for successful pediatric renal transplantation outcome, we reviewed the results of 129 primary renal transplantations performed at our institution. One hundred twenty-nine renal allografts were transplanted to 129 pediatric ESRD patients under the age of 21 between July 1979 and November 1997. Mean age at transplantation was 13.4 yrs ( or =10 yrs: 100) and male to female ratio was 87:42. Original renal diseases were known in 90 recipients (69.8%) including 7 congenital or hereditary diseases (5.4%). Donor kidneys were obtained from 93 living-related donors (LRD), 20 living-unrelated donors (LUD), and 16 cadavers (CAD). Mean follow-up period was 57.8 months. Immunosuppression was done with AZA Pds (n=5) before 1985 and with CyA Pds (n=79) and AZA CyA Pds (n=45) thereafter. RESULTS: Twenty five grafts were lost (20.7%) due to 20 chronic rejections, 3 recurrences of the original renal disease and 2 patient deaths with functioning graft. Overall 1-, 3-, 5-, 10-yr graft and patient survival rates were 95.1%, 88.2%, 80.2%, 61.0% and 98.5%, 96.7%, 95.2%, 95.2%, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, the presence of acute rejection (p=0.014) and LUD (p=0.015) were significant prognostic factors for poor graft survival. Significantly superior growth in height after transplantation was observed in children transplanted at prepubertal age ( or =13 yrs). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term graft survival in pediatric renal transplantation can be obtained by aggressivemanagement of acute rejection, judicious surveillance for immunosuppression, and preferred selection of LRD. In addition, we recommend early renal transplantation in prepubertal children with ESRD on the basis of the significant posttransplant increment in height in prepubertal children.

Factors Affecting Graft Survival in 111 Pediatric(<20yr) Renal Transplantation / 대한이식학회지

Renal transplantation is the optimal treatment for children with end-stage renal disease. While it is largely recognized that improvements in immunosuppressive management, technical advances, and improved long-term care have had beneficial impacts on pediatric renal transplant outcome, graft survival of pediatric renal transplants is inferior to that of adult renal transplants. In order to investigate factors affecting graft survival and to devise better strategies for successful pediatric renal transplant outcome, a retrospective study was conducted. One hundred and eleven renal allografts(LRD:80, LUD:20, CAD:11) were transplanted to 111 pediatric ESRD patients under the age of 20 during the period between July, 1979 and June, 1997. Male to female ratio was 77:34. Mean duration of follow up was 55.9 months. Mean age at transplantation was 12.9 yrs. including 24 patients under the age of 10. Thirty one acute rejection episodes in 25 patients(22.5%) and 24 chronic rejections(21.6%) developed. Original diseases recurred in 12 patients, especially, 8/19 in focal segmental glomerular sclerosis(FSGS). Twenty three grafts were lost(20.7%) due to 18 chronic rejections, 3 recurrences of the original renal disease and 2 patient deaths with functioning graft. Overall 1, 3, 5, 10yr graft and patient survival rates were 94.3%, 86.3%, 76.3%, 62.5% and 98.2%, 96.1%, 94.0%, 94.0%, respectively. In univariate analysis, presence of acute rejection(p=0.012), posttransplant 1 week serum creatinine>or=2.5mg/dL(p=0.022), and LUD (p=0.028) were significant risk factors for poor graft survival. In multivariate analysis, presence of acute rejection(p=0.024) and LUD(p=0.027) were the poor prognostic factors for graft survival. In conclusion, improvement in graft survival of pediatric renal transplantation can be achieved by early detection and aggressive management of acute rejection and preferred selection of related donor in living donor kidney transplantation.