Urinary tract infections and bladder dysfunction after renal transplantation in children

Urinary tract infection remains a major cause of morbidity in pediatric renal transplant recipients. In otherwise healthy children bladder dysfunction increases the susceptibility to urinary tract infection. The aims of this study were to determine whether bladder dysfunction affects the incidence of urinary tract infection after renal transplantation, and to assess the impact of recurrent urinary tract infections on graft function.

We evaluated bladder function with a questionnaire, uroflowmetry and bladder ultrasound, and renal function with clearance of inulin or iohexol (glomerular filtration rate) in 68 recipients of renal transplants 5 to 20 years old, at 1 to 15 years after transplantation, with and without recurrent urinary tract infections.

Bladder dysfunction was equally common in children with and without recurrent urinary tract infections (68% vs 74%, not significant). Therefore, it had no effect on the incidence of recurrent urinary tract infections. Graft function deteriorated at a faster rate in patients with recurrent urinary tract infections than in those without (mean glomerular filtration rate 45 vs 57 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) at 4 years after transplantation, p=0.02).

Bladder dysfunction did not predispose patients to recurrent urinary tract infections. Graft function declined with time in all patients but the rate of deterioration was faster in the group with recurrent urinary tract infections.