Is Non-Adherence Associated with Adverse Outcomes in Kidney Transplant Recipients? The Role of Non-Adherence as a Risk and Predictor Factor for Graft Loss and Death.

Introduction:  Non-adherence in kidney transplants is diversely defined. Immunosuppression non-adherence (INA) is the most used definition and has been associated with graft loss and acute rejection. But INA assesses only one fraction of adherence. Therefore, we analyzed the association of a holistic non-adherence definition with transplant outcomes and compared its prediction performance with other definitions. Methods:  We retrospectively included 739 kidney recipients between 2019 and 2021. We evaluated holistic non-adherence (HNA), suboptimal-immunosuppressor levels (SIL), appointment non-adherence (ANA), procedure non-adherence (PNA) and INA. The main outcomes were graft loss, graft rejection, and mortality. A backward logistic regression was performed estimating adjusted and un-adjusted odds ratio (OR) for each outcome. Finally, we compared the non-adherence definitions' prediction for the main outcomes using the area under the curve. Results: HNA was present in 28.7% of patients. Non-adherent patients had an adjusted OR of 2.66 (1.37-5.15) for mortality, 6.44 for graft loss (2.71-16.6), and 2.28 (1.15-4.47) for graft rejection. INA and PNA presented a moderate discrimination for graft loss and HNA and ANA mild-to-moderate discrimination for graft loss and death. Conclusion: Holistic non-adherence was associated with worst outcomes in kidney recipients and had a significant prediction performance for graft loss and mortality.

Prevalence and Modifiable Factors for Holistic Non-Adherence in Renal Transplant Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: In renal transplant recipients, compliance with medical therapy is vital. Non-adherence is considered a risk factor for worst outcomes in kidney recipients, with attributed outcomes of 64% for graft loss and 80% for late acute rejection. Most literature defines adherence as self-based immunosuppression compliance but does not consider other relevant factors such as consult and procedure compliance. Therefore, this study aims to describe adherence prevalence in kidney transplant recipients and the factors related to non-adherence. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1030 renal transplant patients followed by Colombiana de Trasplantes between January 2019 and July 2021. Sociodemographic and clinical variables were obtained based on clinical records. The mental-health group diagnosed holistic adherence in a semi-structured interview. The diagnosis considered medication intake failure, frequency and number of failures to medical controls or other procedures, suspicious non-adherence behaviors, and serum levels of immunosuppressants. A bivariate followed a descriptive analysis, and a forward logistic regression was performed for non-adherence. Results: Patients had a median of 47 years, and 58.1% were male. Non-adherence was presented in 30.7% of patients. The non-adherence patients were younger, with a higher prevalence of males, single, divided transplant care, had a longer time after transplantation, psychopathological diagnosis, and more reinforcement education by only nursing. Older age and multidisciplinary reinforcement education were protective factors. On the other hand, poor social support, psychopathology diagnosis, and longer time after transplant presented as non-adherence risk factors. Conclusion: Holistic non-adherence was diagnosed in approximately one-third of renal transplant recipients. Its definition included more than just medication non-compliance and could identify more non-adherent patients. Notably, there is a need to consider the related factors in the health follow-up and encourage future research in modifiable factor interventions aiming to increase adherence and achieve better outcomes for renal transplant patients.

Calidad de vida en pacientes con trasplante de hígado / Quality of life in liver transplant patients

Se presenta un estudio cuyo objetivo general fue describir y evaluar la calidad de vida de pacientes con trasplante hepático en los últimos 15 años en Colombia. Participaron voluntariamente 25 trasplantados mediante firma de un consentimiento informado. La calidad de vida se evaluó con una entrevista semiestructurada previamente evaluada por tres expertos, que incluía ítems en formato de escala. La información se analizó con base en las categorías definidas a partir de la fundamentación teórica y la aplicación de pruebas estadísticas. Los resultados demostraron que el trasplante de hígado mejora marcadamente la calidad de vida de los pacientes en la etapa final de la enfermedad hepática, tanto en el aspecto psicológico como en el físico. También se encontró que la calidad de vida estuvo correlacionada de una forma importante con la independencia y con un incremento de la habilidad para el trabajo y, por consiguiente, con el reintegro a éste. Es evidente una mejora en su calidad de vida, en el bienestar general, en la recuperación de la habilidad para el trabajo y su reintegración psicosocial.

A study aimed to describe and evaluate the quality of life in patients with liver transplant in the last 15 years, inColombia, is presented. Twenty five patients voluntarily participated through an informed consent. Quality of life wasevaluated with a semi structured interview, with some items in a scale format, previously validated by a group of three experts. Results were analyzed according to the theoretical categories and statistical analysis. Results showed that the liver transplant improved the quality of life the patients were having in their final stage of the liver disease, both in the psychological and physical aspects; the quality of life was correlated to independency and to an increase in the working capacity. A better quality of life was evident, with a better general well-being, a going back to job, and a psychosocial recovery.