Renal failure as a determinant of mortality after cardiac transplantation.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Patients with heart failure frequently develop renal failure, which increases the mortality rate among patients undergoing cardiac transplantation. PURPOSE: To determine whether preoperative renal function influenced postoperative mortality in cardiac transplantation recipients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The measurements of plasma urea, plasma creatinine, and 24-hour creatinine clearance in patients who underwent cardiac transplantation were correlated with mortality at 30, 90, and 365 days after the procedure, using Student t test for continuous variables and the chi-square test for categorical variables. RESULTS: All variables correlated with mortality, particularly plasma creatinine at 30, 90, and 365 days (P =.029,.003, and.0029, respectively). CONCLUSION: Preoperative renal failure is a mortality indicator in cardiac transplantation recipients.