Actual 10-year Outcomes of Tacrolimus/MMF Compared with Cyclosporin/MMF in Kidney Transplantation / 대한이식학회지

BACKGROUND: Kidney transplantation is the most effective treatment in patients with chronic kidney disease. Recently, the survival rate of kidney allografts has been markedly increased by the development of immunosuppressants. According to research reports published in Symphony in 2007 and 2009, low dose tacrolimus/mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) showed better results than cyclosporin/MMF in renal function and rejection. METHODS: We compared patient survival rate, graft survival rate, incidence of rejection, and metabolic complications in two groups of patients who received immunosuppressants with either tacrolimus/MMF/steroid or cyclosporin/MMF/steroid. All patients underwent kidney transplants at Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center between January 1997 and December 2003 with follow-up over 10 years. RESULTS: A total of 180 patients were included in the research (117 patients were treated with tacrolimus/MMF/steroid and 63 patients with cyclosporin/MMF/steroid). The incidence rate of acute rejection was higher in the cyclosporin/MMF/steroid group; however, the difference was not statistically significant. In the case of metabolic complications, new onset diabetes after transplantation was more frequent in the tacrolimus/MMF/steroid group. The cyclosporin/MMF/steroid group appeared to have a higher rate of hypertension and hyperlipidemia. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, no significant differences in patient and graft survival rate were observed between the two groups.

Simultaneous Lung and Liver Aspergillus in a Kidney Transplant Recipient / 대한이식학회지

Invasive opportunistic infection by Aspergillus fungus is life-threatening for kidney transplant recipients. The occurrence of aspergillosis by hematogenous dissemination can affect multiple organs. Despite having a lower incidence rate relative to bacterial or viral infections in kidney transplant recipients, fungal infections produce the highest number of mortalities. We report a simultaneous case of invasive aspergillosis in the lung and liver of a 52-year-old female patient who underwent living donor kidney transplant. She suffered massive blood loss and high-volume transfusions due to postoperative bleeding. One month after transplantation, she reported intermittent coughing without febrile sensation. Computed tomography revealed nodules on the right and left upper lobes of the lung and multiple cystic liver lesions. Based on pathologic findings and culture from aspirate, she was diagnosed with invasive aspergillosis involving the liver and lung. After a 4 month voriconazole treatment the nodules in the lung and liver disappeared.

The Changes of Graft Survival and Causes of Graft Failure after Kidney Transplantation / 대한이식학회지

BACKGROUND: The incidence of acute rejection has decreased with the introduction of new immunosuppressive agents. However, several studies have shown that allograft survival has not clearly improved over the past few decades. METHODS: We reviewed patients who underwent kidney transplantation between 1982 and 2007. We compared the causes of graft loss for three decades: 1982~1990 (period I),1991~2000 (period II), and 2001~2007 (period III), with the clinical characteristics of patients with functioning grafts and patients who lost their allografts. RESULTS: There were 785 recipients with a mean age of 36.1 years, and 65.2% were male. Graft loss occurred in 329 patients (41.9%), and the most common cause of graft loss was chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN, 52.0%), followed by patient death (17.6%), post-transplant glomerulonephritis (12.8%), and non compliance (7.9%). During the three time periods, 129, 172, and 28 patients lost their grafts, respectively. Five-year graft survival was 61.5%, 78.4%, and 90.8%, respectively, and increased significantly (P<0.000). CAN, as a cause of graft loss, fell from 65.1% (period I) to 32.1% (period III, P<0.000), but patient death increased from 12.4% to 32.1% (P=0.034). A multivariate analysis revealed that significant risk factors for graft loss included an older donor, transplantation at period I, and dual immunosuppression. Use of tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil was associated with a significantly reduced risk of graft loss. CONCLUSIONS: Graft survival has increased over the last three decades whereas the proportion of CAN, the most common cause of graft loss, has decreased. Attention to the main causes of graft loss, CAN, and patient death will offer potential improvement in graft survival.

Effect of Perioperative Management on 1 Year Patency of Internal Arteriovenous Fistula

PURPOSE: Early arteriovenous fistula (AVF) failure especially during the first several months after fistula creation makes the patient, physician and surgeon frustrated. To evaluate the patency rate of arteriovenous fistulas which were made for hemodialysis, we analyzed three different protocols pre- and peri-operatively in our hospital. METHOD: From January 1983 through December 1998, total 2,078 cases of AVF were done in 1,711 patients. During the first period (from 1983 to 1988, n=280), all of the AVFs were performed with naked eyes but during the second period (from 1989 to 1993, n=770), we used surgical loupe and microvascular anastomosing technique. During the third period (from 1994 to 1998, n=1,028), besides using surgical loupe, patients were treated peri-operatively with certain volumes of fluid to maintain the systolic blood pressure above 100 mmHg, venogram and duplex sonogram to identify an available vein before AVF creation, aggressive salvage procedures and use of aspirin after fistula creation. RESULT: There were no differences between each periods in their age distribution, sex ratio, serum creatinine level, associated diabetes mellitus and hemoglobin level except significantly low incidence of hypotension at the time of operation in period 3. The early fistula failure rate at 3 months decreased in period 2, 3 than period 1 (6.9%, 6.7% vs 12.7%) and showed statistical significance (p<0.05). The rate of fistulas that is patent more than 3 months and continued at the end of 12 months were no difference between the periods. Frequency of re-AVF within 3 months in period 1 was significantly higher than period 2, 3 which suggested improved early patency in later periods. The center ability to manage the created AVF checked by rate of re-AVF showed significant difference between our hospital and other local dialysis centers. The patency of primary AVF in each period was 69.7%, 75.2%, 77.5% at one year but that of re-AVF were 77.7%, 86.3% and 80.2%. CONCLLUSION: Microsurgical technic under surgical loupe improved primary AVF patency and decreased early failure rate. Also a protocoled perioperative management, improved management skill and experiences of dialysis center might decrease the re-AVF rate.

Cadaveric Donor Renal Transplantation; Review of 39 Cases / 대한이식학회지

To improve the graft survival in cadaveric donor renal transplantation, various factors that affect the results of allograft function has been analysed and reported. From January 1994 through December 1998, 39 cases of renal transplantation were performed using 20 cadaver donor. Thirty five of them were from brain dead donor and four from cardiac arrest donor. The most frequent cause of brain death was head injury by traffic accident, mostly autobicycle accident. Male donor ratio was 85.0% and their mean age were 29.3 years old. Mean cold ischemic time was 347.5 minutes and warm ischemic time of 4 cardiac arrest cases were 55-60 minutes. The number of HLA mismatch more than 4 were 64.1%. There were 8 cases of multiple renal arteries and 4 cases of double ureter. Donor hypotension during and before kidney procurement and warm ischemic time were factors that cause the delayed graft function in our cases. The number of HLA mismatch and use of Cellcept as immunosuppressant were two factors that affected the development of acute rejection during 6 months after renal allograft. Among the 39 kidneys of 20 donors, 12 paired kidneys showed different graft result in each recipient. Recipient age, number of HLA mismatch, cold ischemic time, duration of hemodialysis before transplantation, and level of hemoglobin were factors that cause the diffrerent result in paired kidney. One and two year graft survival rate were 89.6% and 76.5% respectively. In summary, the early results of our cadaver donor renal transplantation was comparable to living donor transplantation. Adequate donor management and HLA matching between donor and recipient are factors that can improve the graft result.

Cadaveric Donor Renal Transplantation; Review of 39 Cases / 대한이식학회지

To improve the graft survival in cadaveric donor renal transplantation, various factors that affect the results of allograft function has been analysed and reported. From January 1994 through December 1998, 39 cases of renal transplantation were performed using 20 cadaver donor. Thirty five of them were from brain dead donor and four from cardiac arrest donor. The most frequent cause of brain death was head injury by traffic accident, mostly autobicycle accident. Male donor ratio was 85.0% and their mean age were 29.3 years old. Mean cold ischemic time was 347.5 minutes and warm ischemic time of 4 cardiac arrest cases were 55-60 minutes. The number of HLA mismatch more than 4 were 64.1%. There were 8 cases of multiple renal arteries and 4 cases of double ureter. Donor hypotension during and before kidney procurement and warm ischemic time were factors that cause the delayed graft function in our cases. The number of HLA mismatch and use of Cellcept as immunosuppressant were two factors that affected the development of acute rejection during 6 months after renal allograft. Among the 39 kidneys of 20 donors, 12 paired kidneys showed different graft result in each recipient. Recipient age, number of HLA mismatch, cold ischemic time, duration of hemodialysis before transplantation, and level of hemoglobin were factors that cause the diffrerent result in paired kidney. One and two year graft survival rate were 89.6% and 76.5% respectively. In summary, the early results of our cadaver donor renal transplantation was comparable to living donor transplantation. Adequate donor management and HLA matching between donor and recipient are factors that can improve the graft result.