Predictive factors for urinary retention following kidney transplantation in male patients

Urinary retention frequently occurs in patients after kidney transplantation. This study aimed to identify predictive factors for urinary retention requiring transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) following kidney transplantation.

Seventy male patients (median age 56 years, range 37-73 years) who underwent kidney transplantation between 1995 and 2006, and experienced urinary retention and consecutively required TURP, were studied retrospectively. Residual diuresis before transplantation, duration of dialysis, patient age, prostate size, rejection reactions, transplant loss, combined kidney and pancreas transplantation, type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus, and carcinoma of the prostate were evaluated as predictive factors.

Duration of dialysis longer than 120 months (p = 0.0174), patient age over 60 years (p = 0.0045) and the absence of diabetes (n = 46, p = 0.0029) were associated with a significantly higher risk of urinary retention requiring TURP following kidney transplantation. Residual diuresis, prostate size, frequency of rejection reactions, transplant loss and detection of carcinoma, however, could not be identified as predictive factors.

In male patients after kidney transplantation with a long history of dialysis, early TURP due to urinary retention must be anticipated. Surprisingly, the presence of type 1 or 2 diabetes seems to prevent the occurrence of retention, independently of age.