Prognosis of HTLV-1 positive renal transplant recipients in Iran.

The human T lymphocyte virus-1 (HTLV-1) is the responsible pathogen for diseases such as HTLV-1 associated myelopathy (HAM) and adult T-cell leukemia (ATL). Mashhad, in northeast Iran, with high instances of this infection, has a noticeable number of infected renal failure patients. Since immunosuppressive drugs might decrease the latency period of HTLV-1 or increase its complications, the question arises whether HTLV-1 positive renal failure patients are suitable candidates for kidney transplants. To answer this, HTLV-1 positive recipients were evaluated in our study. Patients were divided into two groups. First group consisted of patients at the Imam Reza Hospital dialysis center. Second group had 20 kidney transplantation recipients consisting of ten infected and ten uninfected recipients as control from Imam Reza. Medical history of these patients was recorded and evaluated. The follow-up periods were between one and six years. Among them, 3.8% of patients undergoing dialysis were infected. The most important fact resulting from this study is that none of the infected recipients suffered from HAM or ATL during the follow-up period. In addition, it did not show any significant difference in the incidence of post-transplant complications between the infected and non-infected groups. Our study indicates that HTLV-1 positive patients may undergo kidney transplant without fear of increased incidence of side effects than those found in uninfected recipients. Because of short-term follow-up, probable long latency period of the virus, and the limited number of infected recipients, further work on this issue would be prudent.

Gender disparity in kidney transplantation.

Gender discrimination in benefiting from medical treatment is a worldwide problem. Kidney transplantation, as the ideal treatment for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is not an exception. Considering the unique kidney donation patterns and different family styles in the Middle East, studying this problem in Iran seemed justifiable and necessary. In addition to comparing the numbers of female and male recipients, which has been done in other similar studies, considering the critical effect of waiting time on the outcome, we assessed and compared the waiting times also. The data of age, gender, nationality, donor type and waiting time before transplantation of 1426 (61.85% male, 38.14% female) recipients who underwent transplantation in Imam Reza Hospital in the northeast of Iran from 1990 to 2003, was analyzed. Recipients were categorised into three groups based on donation patterns: those receiving kidney from live unrelated, live related and cadaver donors. The number of patients in each group was 1057 (61.96% male, 38.03% female), 232 (67.24% male, 32.75% female) and 137 (51.82% male, 48.17% female) respectively. The mean overall waiting time was 708 days. Comparing waiting time of male and female recipients in each of these groups did not show significant difference. In all categories of donors, females were less likely than males to be recipients. Furthermore, waiting time for females was longer than males when receiving kidney from sisters and children. For spousal donations, males were recipients more frequently than females although female recipients in this group waited less than their male counterparts to receive the kidney. Generally, our results are in accordance with results of similar researches. In all three mentioned groups, males comprised the majority while the waiting time does not show significant difference between genders. We suggest some reasons for this phenomenon, of which the two main ones are: fewer females are suffering from ESRD and/or females have less chance to find a potential donor in the family, which can be attributed to their lower socio-economic status.

Factors affecting length of hospitalization in kidney transplant recipients.

OBJECTIVES: Owing to improvements in surgical techniques and clinical care, many of the earlier difficulties surrounding kidney transplants have been overcome and so, the number of operations performed has increased dramatically. Resource utilization and costs are now cited as problems for some transplant centers. Because length of hospitalization accounts for the largest portion of the total cost of the treatment process, we sought to determine and assess the factors that might reduce its length. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively studied the medical histories of 115 kidney transplant recipients and donors whose operations were performed between May 2000 and April 2002. Collected information for the recipients included sex, age, reason for kidney failure, weight, height, blood group, length of pretransplant dialysis, number of prior transplants (1 or 2), immunosuppressive regimen, postoperative complications (ie, lymphocele, wound infection, urinary tract infection, graft rejection), and hospitalization after the first discharge owing to postoperative complications. For donors, these demographics included age, sex, blood group, type of donor (deceased or living), and relationship to the recipient. RESULTS: Length of pretransplant dialysis and relationship of the donor to the recipient were independently associated with predicting an increased length of hospitalization (and consequently, increased costs). CONCLUSIONS: By reducing the length of pretransplant dialysis (wait time) and performing more operations between related donors and recipients, the length of hospitalization as well as the cost of treatment can be significantly reduced. Given the results of this study and owing to the increasing number of transplant surgeries occurring globally, future research should focus on analyzing other factors that affect length of hospitalization and associated costs.