A. Buscaroli

Elevated serum levels of C-reactive protein in hemodialysis patients.

Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were measured by nephelometry in 30 healthy subjects (controls) and in 99 patients with uncomplicated terminal uremia on conservative therapy (group 1, n = 30) or chronic hemodialysis (group 2, n = 69). Whereas there was no difference between controls and group 1, both the mean concentration of CRP and the incidence of elevated levels were significantly higher in group 2 in comparison with both controls and group 1. Moreover, the degree of increase in these patients was directly correlated with the duration of hemodialysis. The abnormality, therefore, is somehow related to chronic hemodialysis per se. From a practical standpoint, we concluded that this test cannot be recommended as an acute-phase reactant in this clinical setting.

Ureteral stenosis after kidney transplantation. A study on 869 consecutive transplants.

Ureteral obstruction with impaired urine flow is the most common urological complication following renal transplantation. From December 1976 to December 1997,869 kidney grafts were performed by our kidney transplantation group, 96 from living related donors and 773 from cadaver donors (736 first grafts and 37 regrafts). A stricture of the ureter (SU) was observed in 27 cases with a follow‐up ranging from 18 months to 18 years after the graft and 11 months to 11 years after the treatment of the SU. In six patients, SU was immediately apparent and limited to the anastomosis: they were obviously technical flaws. In all the other patients, there was a free interval ranging from 2 months to 11 years after surgery; the SU usually involved the entire ureter, suggesting multiple etiologies. Repeated urinary infections could be a cause but immunological problems might be more determinant. In our series, acute rejection was more common than chronic so that the correction of SU was followed in many cases by a good and long lasting result (up to 11 years). In our experience, SU was not a dangerous complication even in patients in whom for different reasons (mainly refusal of treatment) the therapy was delayed ‐even if anuria occurred, no case of graft loss or serious damage were observed. At the beginning of our experience, the diagnosis of SU was based on urography, and therapy has always been re‐operation. For 15 years, the diagnosis of SU has been based on routine echographic surveillance, which was intensified after each rejection, and the first treatment of SU in the last 8 years was re‐operation in early technical SU and interventional radiology (balloon dilatation with or without temporary stent) in other cases. When it failed or in case of recurrence, surgical correction was performed utilizing the native ipsilateral or contralateral ureter for a ureteroureterostomy.

The Kidney Donor Profile Index (KDPI) of marginal donors allocated by standardized pretransplant donor biopsy assessment: distribution and association with graft outcomes.

Pretransplant donor biopsy (PTDB)‐based marginal donor allocation systems to single or dual renal transplantation could increase the use of organs with Kidney Donor Profile Index (KDPI) in the highest range (e.g. >80 or >90), whose discard rate approximates 50% in the United States. To test this hypothesis, we retrospectively calculated the KDPI and analyzed the outcomes of 442 marginal kidney transplants (340 single transplants: 278 with a PTDB Remuzzi score <4 [median KDPI: 87; interquartile range (IQR): 78–94] and 62 with a score = 4 [median KDPI: 87; IQR: 76–93]; 102 dual transplants [median KDPI: 93; IQR: 86–96]) and 248 single standard transplant controls (median KDPI: 36; IQR: 18–51). PTDB‐based allocation of marginal grafts led to a limited discard rate of 15% for kidneys with KDPI of 80–90 and of 37% for kidneys with a KDPI of 91–100. Although 1‐year estimated GFRs were significantly lower in recipients of marginal kidneys (−9.3, −17.9 and −18.8 mL/min, for dual transplants, single kidneys with PTDB score <4 and =4, respectively; p < 0.001), graft survival (median follow‐up 3.3 years) was similar between marginal and standard kidney transplants (hazard ratio: 1.20 [95% confidence interval: 0.80–1.79; p = 0.38]). In conclusion, PTDB‐based allocation allows the safe transplantation of kidneys with KDPI in the highest range that may otherwise be discarded.

The influence of intraoperative central venous pressure on delayed graft function in renal transplantation: a single-center experience.

INTRODUCTION Delayed graft function (DGF) is a common complication in kidney transplantation. We sought to evaluate possible correlates for DGF including intraoperative parameters, focusing on fluid replacement and central venous pressure (CVP) values among patients undergoing kidney transplantation at our center. METHODS One hundred fifty-five cadaveric donor transplantations performed at our center between 2001 and 2005 were selected for the study. We compared intraoperative parameters together with 15 other clinical and socio-demographic recipient and donor variables among patients experiencing DGF (n = 58) versus those with immediate graft function (IGF; n = 97). All significant variables at P < .05 upon univariate analysis were entered into a multivariate logistic regression model to identify risk factors for DGF. RESULTS CVP at awakening of ≤8 mm Hg (odds ratio [OR] = 3.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.63-7.63), fluid input during surgery ≤2.250 mL (OR = 2.12; 95% CI, 1.00-4.51), and recipient age ≥50 years (OR = 2.72; 95% CI, 1.11-6.68) were the strongest correlates of DGF. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggested that reduced intraoperative perfusion as measured using CVP monitoring might increase DGF risk. This study provides the rationale to further investigate the optimal CVP target during this surgery.

Ureteral stenosis after kidney transplantation: interventional radiology or surgery?

URETERAL obstruction with impaired urine flow is the most common urologic complication following kidney transplantation (KT): some authors report a certain amount of graft loss and operative mortality. Ureteral stenosis (US) may appear days or years after KT with an incidence ranging from 2% to 7%. Because the renal graft is denervated, the evolution of a stricture is usually asymptomatic until graft failure sets in. Aware of this fact and of its frequency, today all recipients are submitted to ultrasonographic and clinical monitoring. Moreover, US deserves some attention because it can frequently be corrected with a long-lasting success rate and because the therapy of this condition has changed in the last few years; the recent advances in percutaneous radiologic maneuvers have significantly replaced surgical revision of the implant. The aim of this paper was to evaluate today’s indication for surgery and interventional radiology in correcting the US after KT.

Validity of flow cytometry for cross-match evaluation in clinical renal transplantation.

This paper reports a 2-year experience of more than 5,000 cross-match tests for renal transplantation. Tests were performed by means of both standard light microscopy and an innovatory method based on flow cytometry, an up-to-date investigative technique for computerized analysis of individual cell characteristics. Flow cytometry allowed a better detection of weak positive reactions (false-negative cross-matches) than light microscopy, thus reducing the risk of selecting candidates with donor presensitization. Transplant clinical outcome supported the value of this original and advanced technological method.

Bone Remodelling after Renal Transplantation (RT)

With the recovery of the excretory and endocrine renal functions after successful Renal Transplantation (RT), renal bone disease also tends to disappear. Nonetheless, several new biochemical changes to the calcium-phosphorus metabolism (e.g. hypercalcemia, hypophosphatemia) may appear while bone histology may remain altered or show new lesions. Apart from scattered reports in the literature, the new bone remodelling that invariably occurs after RT has not been sufficiently investigated, above all as a possible source of overt clinical bone disease.

ELISA ANTI-HLA ANTIBODY SCREENING IDENTIFIES NON-COMPLEMENT-FIXING ANTIBODIES RESPONSIBLE FOR ACUTE GRAFT REJECTION. A CASE REPORT

We report on a kidney transplant recipient experiencing an unexpected early acute vascular graft rejection. Retrospective analysis of patient serum samples, utilizing a new ELISA HLA screening technique, revealed that the rejection crisis and the subsequent graft loss were due to a pretransplant donor‐specific pre‐sensitization caused by a non‐complement‐fixing antibody of IgG2 class. The case illustrates the clinical significance of non‐complement‐fixing anti‐HLA antibodies. In addition it is shown that ELISA methods are suitable for detecting potentially harmful donor pre‐sensitization in waiting‐list patients not detectable by standard lymphocytotoxicity techniques. Hence ELISA could be an alternative to flow cytometry for this purpose. It is concluded that screening and cross‐matching techniques which detect non‐complement‐fixing anti‐HLA antibodies could improve graft outcome, and should form part of the immunological monitoring of kidney transplant waiting‐list patients.

A clinical stratification tool for chronic kidney disease progression rate based on classification tree analysis

BACKGROUND Registry-based studies have identified risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and for progression to end-stage renal disease. However, usually, these studies do not incorporate sequential measurements of kidney function and provide little information on the prognosis of individual patients. The aim of this study is to identify which combinations of demographic and clinical characteristics are useful to discriminate patients with a differential annual decline in glomerular filtration rate (GFR). METHODS This observational retrospective study includes patients enlisted in the registry of the Prevention of Progressive Renal Insufficiency Project of Emilia-Romagna region (Italy) from July 2004 to June 2010, with at least four serum creatinine measurements. Classification tree analysis (CTA) was used to identify subgroups of patients with a different annual GFR decline using demographic and laboratory data collected at study entry. RESULTS The CTA procedure generated seven mutually exclusive groups. Among patients with proteinuria, those with a baseline estimated GFR (eGFR) of >33 mL/min/1.73 m(2) exhibited the fastest illness progression in the study population (-3.655 mL/min/1.73 m(2)), followed by patients with a baseline eGFR of <33 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and a baseline serum phosphorus of >4.3 mg/dL (-2.833 mL/min/1.73 m(2)). Among patients without proteinuria, those aged <67 years exhibited a significantly faster progression, which was even faster for the subgroup with diabetes. Among patients aged >67 years, females had on average a stable eGFR over time, with a large variability. CONCLUSIONS It is possible to rely on a few variables typically accessible in routine clinical practice to stratify patients with a different CKD progression rate. Stratification can be used to guide decisions about the follow-up schedule, treatments to slow progression of kidney disease, prevent its complications and to begin planning for dialysis and transplantation.

Flow cytometry evaluation of urinary sediment in renal transplantation

The value of exfoliative urinary cytology for the diagnosis of different pathological conditions in renal transplantation is widely recognized. The method, however, has not yet gained full acceptance, mainly because identification of the different cells is not always possible by means of standard staining techniques. In view of its characteristics, flow cytometry (FC) seems to represent a consistently reliable, rapid and innovative approach for differentialing the various cells present in the urinary sediment and assessing their number. This study gives the examination result of 223 urinary specimens from 127 transplanted patients selected according to pathology. Sediment cells, collected from fresh urine samples, were washed, treated with a lysing solution, resuspended in saline solution and directly analysed in a FACSCAN cytometer. Morphological evaluation showed: a small number of cells in patients with stable renal function; a larger number of cells, with predominance of lymphocytes, during acute rejection episodes; an absolute predominance of neutrophils during bacterial infection; large-sized cellular debris in cases of post-transplant tubular necrosis; and small cell debris in cases of cyclosporine cytotoxicity. Lymphocyte surface-marker evaluation made it possible to differentiate lymphocyte populations observed during acute rejection episodes (cytotoxic T-cell, CD8 and HLA class II and NK cells) from those detected during bacterial infection (T-cell CD4 positive). These results suggest that urinary FC may be a reliable diagnostic tool in clinical renal transplantation.