Avascular necrosis of bone after renal transplantation

Avascular necrosis (AN) of bone developed in 11 of 100 children who received renal transplants from 1964 to 1977. Bones involved were femoral heads, 14; femoral condyles, 12; tall, two; and carpal naviculars, two. Seven children with symptomatic AN of the femoral heads were treated with limited weight bearing; three subsequently required arthroplasty, and degenerative joint disease developed in one. The AN at other joints healed clinically but not roentgenographically. Although the prevalence of AN decreased after 1967 coincident with a decrease in prednisone dose, children with AN received the same cumulative prednisone dose as children in a control group. Serum phosphorus levels were different in the AN and control groups, but other indexes of hyperparathyroidism were similar. The relative contributions of prednisone therapy and hyperparathyroidism to the development of AN could not be delineated.