Eun-Ah Hwang

Use of early postoperative MAG3 renal scan to predict long-term outcomes of renal transplants.

OBJECTIVES A Tc-99m mercaptoacetyltriglycine renal scan has been used to evaluate perfusion and excretory function of renal allografts. A Tc-99m mercaptoacetyltriglycine renal scan has been reported to correlate with early allograft outcomes. This study was done to determine whether a Tc-99m mercaptoacetyltriglycine renal scan has any relation with long-term renal transplant outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 311 consecutive kidney transplant recipients were included in the study. All had Tc-99m mercaptoacetyltriglycine renal scans on posttransplant days 3 and 7. Patterns of the renography curve was graded as follows: 0=normal perfusion and excretion; 1=normal perfusion, reduced excretion; 2=normal perfusion, flat excretion; and 3=reduced perfusion and rising curve. Early postoperative Tc-99m mercaptoacetyltriglycine scintigraphy findings were correlated with serum creatinine values, acute rejection episodes, and long-term graft survival. RESULTS A Tc-99m mercaptoacetyltriglycine renography of a deceased-donor kidney transplant showed a significantly higher grade on both days 3 and 7 than did live-donor kidney transplant (P < .001). Serum creatinine was positively correlated with the renography grades on days 3 and 7. The acute rejection rate was higher in the renography on days 3 and 7. Grade 2 renography on day 3 showed a significantly higher graft failure rate compared with the other grades (8.8% vs 8.6% vs 31.6% vs 7.3%; P = .014). Also, the renography showed the worst 5-year graft survival rate (95.9% vs 93.3% vs 89.5% vs 94.1%; P = .019). There were no differences in the graft failure rate or in graft survival rate according to the Tc-99m mercaptoacetyltriglycine renography grades on day 7. CONCLUSIONS Our data show that a Tc-99m mercaptoacetyltriglycine renography grade correlate not only with early postoperative kidney function and incidence of acute rejection, but also with long-term outcomes of a renal allograft. A grade 2 renography pattern, with normal uptake and flat excretion, indicates a dismal prognosis for the long-term allograft survival.

A case of CMV infection and encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis in a renal transplant recipient

Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS) is a rare but severe complication of peritoneal dialysis. It has been reported that the condition of patients with EPS may improve after renal transplantation. However, there are also several reports of EPS occurring after renal transplantation. In this report, we present a patient who developed EPS combined with gastrointestinal cytomegalovirus infection 21 months after successful renal transplantation, despite the use of tacrolimus and low-dose steroid as maintenance immunosuppression.