title: The clinical impact of an early decline in kidney function in patients following heart transplantation.
abstract: Renal dysfunction is a well-known complication following heart transplantation. We examined an early decline in kidney function as a predictor of progression to end-stage renal disease and mortality in heart transplant recipients. We performed a retrospective cohort study of 233 patients who received a heart transplant between July 1985 and July 2004, and who survived >1 month. The decline in estimated creatinine clearance (CrCl) was used to predict the outcomes of need for chronic dialysis or mortality >1-year posttransplant. The earliest time to chronic dialysis was 484 days. A 30% decline in CrCl between 1 month and 12 months predicted the need for chronic dialysis (p = 0.01), all-cause mortality (p < 0.0001) and time to first CrCl </=30 mL/min at >1-year posttransplant (p = 0.02). A 30% decline in CrCl between 1 month and 3 months also independently predicted the need for chronic dialysis (p = 0.04) and time to first CrCl </= 30 mL/min at >1-year posttransplant (p = 0.01). In conclusion, an early drop in CrCl within the first year is a strong predictor of chronic dialysis and death >1-year postheart transplantation. Future studies should focus on kidney function preservation in those identified at high risk for progression to end-stage kidney disease and mortality.
authors.affiliation: Multi-Organ Transplant Program, Department of Medicine, Markham, Ontario, Canada. marcelo.cantarovich@muhc.mcgill.ca
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cantarovich
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hirsh
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alam
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Giannetti
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cecere
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carroll
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Edwardes
mesh_terms: D015331:Cohort Studies; D003404:Creatinine / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007668:Kidney / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D051437:Renal Insufficiency / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D003404:Creatinine