Urological complications of renal transplant in patients with prolonged anuria

Because of the shortage of deceased donor kidneys, some patients are on dialysis for over 10 years before renal transplantation. Many of these patients are anuric. We reviewed the urological complications in renal transplant recipients with anuria on hemodialysis for more than 10 years, compared with preemptive transplant recipients.

The records of 4012 renal transplants from January 1988 to September 2007 were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 2735 deceased donor transplants were performed during this period. We identified a group of patients who were on hemodialysis for over 10 years and made less than 500 mL of urine per day. We compared the rate of urologic complications in this group with patients who were never on dialysis and had normal bladder function based on history and physical examination.

Seventy-two patients met the strict inclusion criteria. There were 41 recipients in the anuric group and 31 recipients in the preemptive group. The surgical complications were not significantly different between the two groups (P=0.503). However, the anuric group required five more hospital admissions for complicated urinary tract infections (P=0.044).

Renal transplant recipients who have been anuric for a prolonged period have higher rates of complicated urinary tract infections, but the long-term risks of urological complications are not significantly different.