Duration of delayed graft function and outcomes after kidney transplantation from controlled donation after...

The impact of the duration of delayed graft function (DGF) on graft survival is poorly characterized in controlled donation after circulatory death (DCD) donor kidney transplantation. A retrospective analysis was performed on 225 DCD donor kidney transplants between 2011 and 2016. When patients with primary nonfunction were excluded (n = 9), 141 recipients (65%) had DGF, with median (IQR) duration of dialysis dependency of 6 (2-11.75) days. Longer duration of dialysis dependency was associated with lower estimated glomerular filtration rate at 1 year, and a higher rate of acute rejection. On Kaplan-Meier analysis, the presence of DGF was associated with lower graft survival (log-rank test P = 0.034), though duration of DGF was not (P = 0.723). However, multivariable Cox regression analysis found that only acute rejection was independently associated with lower graft survival [HR (95% CI) 4.302 (1.617-11.450); P = 0.003], whereas the presence of DGF and DGF duration were not. In controlled DCD kidney transplantation, DGF duration itself may not be independently associated with graft survival; rather, it may be that acute rejection associated with prolonged DGF is the poor prognostic factor.