title: Kidney transplant recipients with functioning grafts for more than 15 years.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Renal transplantation is the best renal replacement therapy because it significantly improves patient survival. The developments in transplantation and increasing number of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have unmasked long-term complications secondary to immunosuppressive drugs and chronic renal failure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighty-six renal transplant recipients with grafts that have functioned more than 15 years were included in the study. This cross-sectional retrospective analysis of demographic, clinical, and laboratory findings was conducted in 3 Turkish transplantation centers. The mean age was 30.4 ± 10.2 years at the time of the transplantation. The mean time between the transplantation and the study was 19.1 ± 3.6 years. At the time of the study, mean creatinine level was 1.52 ± 0.60 mg/dL, 70.09% of the patients displayed glomerular filtration rates <60 mL/min/1.73 m(2). Urinary protein excretion was 0.57 ± 0.65 g/d. Hypertension and hyperlipidemia were the most common comorbid diseases. Twelve patients had diabetes and 9 cardiovascular disease. Seventeen patients had been diagnosed with skin and 5 with non-skin cancer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As the number of recipients with long-term functioning grafts increases, long-term complications become evident, particularly chronic renal failure. Survivors should be evaluated regularly and treated early for risk factors and complications to improve long-term graft and patient survival.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey. aygul.celtik@ege.edu.tr
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Celtik
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alpay
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Celik
authors.forename: T O
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: Sezer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Turkmen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Camsari
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Toz
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Sever
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hoscoskun
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008297:Male