title: Renal transplantation in children with emphasis on young patients.
abstract: We report the results of 41 consecutive renal transplantations performed on 39 children (median age 2.7 years). Twenty-six recipients were less than 5 years old. Twenty-one recipients (13 under the age of 5 years) received cadaver (CAD) grafts. All grafts except 2 were from adult donors and were placed extraperitoneally. Patients were on triple immunosuppression (cyclosporine plus azathioprine plus methylprednisolone). Mean follow-up time was 2.3 years. No vascular and only one ureteral complication was seen. Acute tubular necrosis occurred in 3 patients (7.3%). No grafts were lost due to acute rejection. Three-year patient survival and 1-year graft survival were 100%. The overall 3-year actuarial graft survival was 86%. Three-year survival of grafts from living-related donors (LRD) was 92% and that of CAD grafts 75%. In recipients younger than 5 years, 3-year LRD graft survival was '89% and CAD graft survival 73%. No significant differences in graft survival between recipients of different age groups or between LRD and CAD grafts were found. We conclude that results of renal transplantation in children under 5 years of age are comparable to those of older children, even using CAD grafts, when adult donors and triple immunosuppression are used.
authors.affiliation: I Department of Paediatrics, University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Laine
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Holmberg
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Salmela
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jalanko
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sairanen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Peltola
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rönnholm
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Eklund
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wikström
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leijala
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000517:prevention & control; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D007223:Infant; D007677:Kidney Function Tests; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D014019:Tissue Donors
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents