David P. Hickey

RENAL TRANSPLANTATION IN PATIENTS 65 YEARS OLD OR OLDER

Between January 1982 and August 1989, cadaveric renal transplantation was performed in 22 patients 65 years old or older. Mean recipient age was 68 years (range 65 to 73 years). There were 17 men and 5 women. Additional risk factors included retransplantation (3 patients), high (greater than 30%) panel reactive antibody (4) and diabetes (1). All patients received cyclosporine as part of the immunosuppressive regimen. The 3-year actuarial patient and allograft survival rates were 89% and 71%, respectively. There were 6 graft losses due to chronic rejection (2 patients), renal vein thrombosis (1), myocardial infarction (1), withdrawal of immunosuppression because of sepsis (1) and primary nonfunction (1). Of the 16 patients with a functioning graft 12 currently have a serum creatinine of less than 2.0 mg./dl. These results suggest that cadaveric renal transplantation is an acceptable form of treatment for patients older than 65 years with end stage renal disease.

Retrograde transurethral balloon dilation of prostate: innovative management of abacterial chronic prostatitis and prostatodynia.

Retrograde transurethral balloon dilatation (RTBD) of the prostate recently has been suggested as alternative therapy for patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Seven patients with documented functional urinary outlet obstruction at the level of the bladder neck or prostatic urethra underwent RTBD of prostate. Each patient had a classic diagnosis of abacterial chronic prostatitis or prostatodynia based on history, physical examination, and localization cultures. Prior to RTBD of prostate, patients underwent cystoscopy, voiding cystourethrogram, urodynamic and uroflow studies. RTBD of prostate was done as an outpatient procedure requiring intravenous sedation or general anesthesia. Dilation was performed with a 25-mm urethroplasty balloon catheter inflated at 3.5 atm of pressure for twenty minutes. Improvement in voiding symptomatology was noted in all patients and graded numerically (0-10 scale), with ten indicating normal voiding. Follow-up to date ranges from one to five months. This technique may have promise as a treatment option in patients with abacterial chronic prostatitis and prostatodynia.

THERAPEUTIC USE OF GANCICLOVIR FOR INVASIVE CYTOMEGALOVIRUS INFECTION IN CADAVERIC RENAL ALLOGRAFT RECIPIENTS

Between November 1987 and September 1989, 419 cadaveric renal transplants were performed at our university. Of the patients 36 (8.6%) had invasive cytomegalovirus infection documented by gastric or duodenal mucosal biopsy in 23 (64%), bronchoalveolar lavage in 12 (33%), allograft biopsy or nephrectomy specimen in 5 (14%) and/or liver biopsy in 1 (3%). Cytomegalovirus severity was defined as mild in 27 patients, moderate in 6 and severe in 3. Ganciclovir [9-(1,3-dihydroxy-2-propoxymethyl)-guanine] was begun once the diagnosis was confirmed by histology or culture at a median of 56 days from transplantation (range 28 to 133 days). Duration of ganciclovir therapy was a minimum of 7 days or until fever was absent for 5 consecutive days (mean 12.2 +/- 3.5 days, range 4 to 21). Ganciclovir was well tolerated and side effects were limited to de novo neutropenia (7 patients), thrombocytopenia (2) and rash (1). Initial clinical improvement was observed in all patients. Two patients had recurrent cytomegalovirus infections that responded to a second course of ganciclovir. The 1-year actuarial patient survival was 100%. At a mean followup of 12.7 +/- 6.2 months 19 patients retained allograft function with a mean serum creatinine of 2.5 mg./dl. (range 1.2 to 4.6). Ganciclovir appears to be a safe and effective drug for the treatment of tissue invasive cytomegalovirus infection in cadaver renal transplant recipients. Prompt institution of this drug at diagnosis of invasive cytomegalovirus may lower the mortality rate formerly associated with this disease.

Predictors of 10-year pancreas allograft survival after simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation.

Objective This study aimed to identify the preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative factors affecting 10-year pancreas allograft survival after simultaneous pancreas and kidney (SPK) transplantation. Methods Analysis was performed on a prospectively maintained database of 56 SPK transplants consecutively performed between January 1992 and October 2002. The definition cutoff points of specific variables were obtained by the receiver operating characteristic curve and multiple logistic regression analyses that were performed to determine the predictors of pancreas allograft survival after 10 years. Results In total, 44 (79%) patients had an overall survival of more than 10 years, and the overall 10-year pancreas allograft survival rate was 57% (n = 32/56). The significant predictors for pancreas allograft failure in 10 years and above were kidney allograft failure (P = 0.04), serum creatinine 1 year postoperatively (P = 0.002), and serum hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level 2 years postoperatively (P = 0.003). A serum creatinine cutoff value of more than 129 &mgr;mol/L at 1 year was 87.5% sensitive and 70% specific for predicting pancreas allograft failure at 10 years. Serum HbA1c of more than 5.6% at 2 years was 85.7% sensitive and 62.5% specific for predicting pancreas allograft failure at 10 years. On multivariate analysis, 129 &mgr;mol/L and above of serum creatinine and more than 5.6% of serum HbA1c were the independent predictors of pancreas allograft failure at 10 years. Conclusions These findings may provide important information for identifying patients at risk for long-term pancreas allograft failure after SPK transplantation.

HIGHLY SENSITIZED PATIENTS WITH DELAYED GRAFT FUNCTION : A MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL

The postoperative management of the highly sensitized renal transplant recipient with delayed graft function on cyclosporine is complicated. Allografts with delayed graft function are reported to have a 20 to 30% poorer 1-year survival than allografts without delayed graft function. Several factors may be implicated in this poorer 1-year survival. A decrease in or cessation of cyclosporine dosage frequently is used in an attempt to minimize nephrotoxicity. Such under-immunosuppression can result in irreversible rejection. Occasionally, a pessimistic view of the prognosis for the transplant may result in early abandonment of the allograft with discontinuation of immunosuppression and allograft nephrectomy. We report on 3 highly sensitized patients whose kidneys had delayed graft function and were deliberately maintained on high doses of cyclosporine throughout the period of delayed graft function. Each graft achieved function (2, 4 and 5 months) after transplantation. The serum creatinine levels 20, 28 and 38 months after transplantation were 2.7, 2.0 and 1.0 mg./dl., respectively. We suggest that the maintenance of high cyclosporine levels throughout the delayed graft function period is useful in highly sensitized recipients and was an important factor in their successful outcome. A management protocol for such patients is proposed.

Simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation: Incidence and risk factors for amputation after 10-year follow-up

The incidence of amputation after simultaneous pancreas and kidney (SPK) transplantation ranges from 9.5% to 23% after 5 years of follow‐up. The objective of this study was to investigate the incidence and risk factors for amputation in SPK transplant patients compared to kidney transplantation alone (KTA) after a minimum follow‐up of 10 years.