From December 2019 to March 2020, China was the epicenter of the SARS‐CoV‐2 infection pandemic, but from that moment on, Europe surpassed China in the number of new cases and deaths related to this novel viral respiratory infection. The emergence of this world pandemic is particularly important for solid organ transplant recipients, who might have an increased risk of mortality, not only due to their chronic immunosuppression status, but also to the cardiovascular risk that correlates with several years of chronic kidney disease. To the extent that there is still a lack of knowledge about the clinical characteristics, evolution, and prognosis of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in kidney transplant recipients, we will report the first 5 cases diagnosed and followed in our transplant unit, as well as share the therapeutic strategies adopted.
Introduction: It has been suggested that cystatin C levels are modified by obesity and inflammation. Furthermore, cystatin C has been associated with cardiovascular events and mortality outcomes. Aim: To study the association of cystatin C with the metabolic profile and cardiovascular disease of peritoneal dialysis patients. Methods: Data collected included clinical, laboratorial, and multifrequency bioimpedance assessment of 52 stable peritoneal dialysis patients. Minimal residual renal function was defined as > 2mL/min/1.73m2. Results: Serum cystatin C was not significantly associated with peritoneal or urinary cystatin C excretion. Negative correlation of cystatin C with normalized protein catabolic rate (rho -0.33, p = 0.02) and a trend towards positive correlation with relative body fat (rho 0.27, p = 0.05) were not independent from residual renal function. Cystatin C was not significantly associated with cardiovascular disease (p = 0.28), nor with glycated hemoglobin (p = 0.19) or c-reactive protein (p = 0.56). In the multivariate model, both age and diabetes were the strongest predictors of cardiovascular disease (odds ratio 1.09, p = 0.029 and odds ratio 29.95, p = 0.016, respectively), while relative body fat was negatively associated with cardiovascular disease (p = 0.038); neither cystatin C (p = 0.096) nor minimal residual renal function (p = 0.756) reached a significant association with cardiovascular disease. Conclusions: In this group of peritoneal dialysis patients, cystatin C did not correlate with the metabolic or inflammatory status, nor cardiovascular disease, after adjustment for residual renal function.
Introduction: Kidney transplant (KT) recipients have a high risk for adverse outcomes from infections, such as COVID-19. Methods: We have retrospectively reviewed all KT recipients with documented COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and March 15, 2021, and analyzed patients’ characteristics, clinical course, treatment, and outcomes. Results: We identified 123 patients, 72% were male, with a mean age of 54.5±13.0 years. Twenty percent were asymptomatic, 7% had a nosocomial transmission, and 36% of the remainder required hospitalization. Almost all admitted patients received oxygen, 30% required invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), more than a half had acute kidney injury, with 10% requiring dialysis, and 20% died. Incidence was comparable to that of the Portuguese population, but the mortality rate was almost four times higher (SMR of 3.768 (95% CI:1.723-7.154). Higher body mass index (OR 1.275, P=0.001), lower baseline graft function (OR 0.968, P=0.015), and nosocomial transmission (OR 13.836, P=0.019) were associated with oxygen demand, whereas female gender (OR 3.801, P=0.031) and lower baseline kidney graft function (OR 0.955, P=0.005), but not body mass index, were associated with IMV and/or death. Conclusion: Mortality rate in KT patients was higher than in the general population and lower baseline kidney function was the most consistent marker for adverse outcomes.
Background and Aims Kidney volume has been proven to be a surrogate marker of nephron mass and renal function in living donors. Although many studies correlate the kidney mass with renal donors’ function after donation, few studies have compared the donated kidney mass with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in the kidneýs recipients. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between donor kidney volume and post-transplantation graft function by using computerized tomography to obtain renal volumes. Method Clinical data off all donor and recipient pairs undergoing live donor kidney transplantation (KT) at our institution between January 2008 and December 2017 (n=195) were reviewed. The volume of the kidney selected for transplant was determined using volume calculating software and correlate to transplant recipient eGFR. Results All metrics of donor kidney volume (DKV): DKV alone, ADK adjusted for weight, body mass index (BMI) or body surface area (BSA), correlated significantly with eGFR (all with p<0,001) at 1 year after KT, with DKV/BSA having the highest correlation (r=0,431). Hence, recipients were divided into terciles according their DKV/BSA (cm3/m2): tercile 1 (DKV/BSA between 49,7-77,5, n=64), tercile 2 (78-95,2, n=63) and tercile 3 (95,4-176, n=63). eGFR differences between groups at each time point were all significant (P<0.05), except for the comparison between T1 and T2 at month 6 (figure 1) Significant risk factors for eGFR<60 ml/min at 1-year were: acute rejection (AR) at 1-year (OR=4.116, P=0.018); calculated PRA>0% (OR=2.075, P=0.039); higher donor age (OR per unit=1.033, P=0.047); and peritoneal dialysis modality (in comparison with preemptive KT: OR=3.232, P=0.013). Higher (T3) DKV/BSA tercile (in comparison with T1: OR=0.306, P=0.004) was protective of this outcome. Patients that experienced AR at 1-year had significantly lower DKV/BSA, particularly those with acute cellular rejection (ACR). The median follow-up was 4,8 years (IQR: 3.2-7.5). The censored graft survival by DKV/BSA terciles at 10 years were 59,3% for group 1, 91.3% for group 2 and 91.1% for group 3 (figure 3). Conclusion Our study demonstrates that transplantation of donor-recipient pairs with lower DKV/BSA ratio were associated with significantly worse graft function and higher incidence of AR. This data suggests that a larger mass of nephrons remaining adjusted to recipient’s weight seems to predict a better long-term eGFR. This method can be useful in order to identify patients at risk for a low eGFR after KT and, in cases of multiple potential donors, optimize donor selection.
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