A Single-Center Assessment of Delayed Graft Function in Recipients of Simultaneous Liver and Kidney Transplant

The effects of delayed graft function on long-term kidney allograft outcomes are poorly defined among simultaneous liver and kidney transplant recipients.

We analyzed data of all simultaneous liver and kidney recipients transplanted at the University of Wisconsin between 2010 and 2017. Risk factors for the development of delayed graft function, kidney graft failure, and patient mortality were outcomes of interest.

There were a total of 60 simultaneous liver and kidney recipients; 28 (47%) had delayed graft function. After adjustment for multiple variables, we found that pretransplant dialysis >6 weeks (hazard ratio [HR] = 5.6, 95% CI: 1.23-25.59, P = .02), pretransplant albumin <3 g/dL (HR = 5.75, 95% CI: 1.76-16.94, P = .003), and presence of pretransplant diabetes (HR = 2.5, 95% CI: 0.97-4.77, P = .05) were significantly associated with delayed graft function. Multivariate analysis showed that pretransplant albumin <3 (HR = 4.86, 95% CI: 1.07-22.02, P = .02) was associated with a higher risk of all-cause kidney allograft failure, whereas the duration of delayed graft function (HR = 1.07 per day, 95% CI: 1.01-1.14, P = .01) was associated with a higher risk of death-censored kidney allograft failure. The presence of delayed graft function was not associated with all-cause or death-censored kidney or liver allograft failure. Similarly, the presence of delayed graft function was not associated with patient mortality.

The incidence of delayed graft function was high in simultaneous liver and kidney recipients. However, with appropriate management, delayed graft function may not have a negative impact on patient or kidney allograft survival.