Kidney transplantation in children: a report of 111 cases / 中华器官移植杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To summarize the transplant outcomes of pediatric kidney transplantation at a single center and discuss probable measures of improving the outcomes.Methods:A total of 111 pediatric renal transplantation were performed from September 2002 to September 2019. They were divided into adult-donor group ( n=41) and pediatric-donor group ( n=70). Adult-donor group consisted of two subgroups based upon donor sources living-donor group ( n=19) and deceased-donor group ( n=22). Pediatric-donor group consisted of two subgroups based upon surgical types single kidney group ( n=48) and en bloc kidney group ( n=22). Clinical data and outcomes of grafts and recipients were retrospectively analyzed. Results:The average age of recipients was (15.6±1.9) years in adult-donor group. None developed delayed graft function (DGF) in living-donor group whereas 6 patients (27.3%) had DGF in deceased-donor group ( P<0.05). During a follow-up period of 22-181 months, 1-year and 5-year graft survivals were 100% vs 94.1% and 93.8% vs 94.1% in living-donor and deceased-donor groups respectively. There were no statistical differences. In pediatric-donor group, the age of donors was significantly lower in en bloc subgroup than that in single kidney subgroup (median 0.5 vs 6 months, P<0.05). The age of recipients was similar between two subgroups (9.5±5.3) years in single kidney group vs. 11.5± 1.8 years in en bloc kidney group. In addition, 7 cases of single kidney were transplanted for infant recipients aged under 1 year. Vascular thrombosis occurred in 3 patients (6.3%) of single kidney group, less than that in 5 patients (22.7%) of en bloc kidney group ( P=0.06). During a follow-up period of 4-54 months, 1-year and 2-year graft survivals were 85% and 80% in single kidney group whereas 75% and 70% in en bloc kidney group. However, there was no statistically significant difference. One-year survival was 98% in single kidney group and 95% in en bloc kidney group. Conclusions:For elder pediatric recipients, excellent kidney transplant outcomes may be achieved with grafts from adult donors. For pediatric kidney recipients, transplant outcomes can be further improved with careful assessments and cautious usage of small grafts, particularly those form neonatal donors.