RESUMO
CONTEXT: Kidney transplantation from donors with expanded criteria has increased the pool of kidneys at the cost of a higher risk of short and long-term graft dysfunction. The main issue lies in determining which kidneys will offer acceptable function and survival compared with the risk represented by surgery and subsequent immunosuppression. OBJECTIVE: The objective of our article is to review the current evidence on the tools for predicting the functionality of kidney transplantation from cadaveric donors with expanded criteria and determining the validity for their use in standard practice. ACQUISITION OF EVIDENCE: We conducted a systematic literature review according to the PRISM criteria, through Medline (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) and using the keywords (in isolation or in conjunction) "cadaveric renal transplantation; kidney graft function appraisal, graft function predictors". We selected prospective and retrospective series and review articles. A total of 375 articles were analysed, 39 of which were ultimately selected for review. SUMMARY OF THE EVIDENCE: The predictors of functionality include the following: The donor risk indices; the calculation of the renal functional weight or the assessment of the nephronic mass; the measurement of vascular resistances during perfusion in hypothermia; the measurement of the donor's biomarkers in urine and in the perfusion liquid; the measurement of functional and reperfusion parameters in normothermia; and the measurement of morphological parameters (microscopic and macroscopic) of the target organ. In this article, we present an explanatory summary of each of these parameters, as well as their most recent evidence on this issue. DISCUSSION: None of the reviewed parameters in isolation could reliably predict renal function and graft survival. There is a significant void in terms of the macroscopic assessment of kidney transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: We need to continue developing predictors of renal functionality to accurately define the distribution of each currently available donor kidney.