Clinical and Laboratory Features of Geriatric Patients Undergoing Transplantation: A Single-Center Experience

Organ transplant is a life-saving treatment for patients with end-stage organ failure. Today, with the increase in the healthy aging geriatric population, transplant cases in elderly patients are also increasing. This study examined the effects of age differences on morbidity and mortality in kidney and liver transplant patients.

A total of 33 patients aged 65 years and over (elderly group) and 31 patients aged 25 to 64 years (younger group) were selected from 1273 kidney and 532 liver transplants performed at Başkent University Ankara Hospital between January 2000 and December 2023. In this descriptive study, we retrospectively compared graft survival and laboratory values between kidney and liver transplant patients in the elderly versus younger group.

The mean age was 73.67 ± 5.57 years in the elderly group and 57.77 ± 10.47 years in the younger group. Among patients with kidney transplant, the elderly group consisted of 4 female (19%) and 17 male (81%) patients, and the younger group consisted of 6 female (33%) and 12 male (67%) patients. Among patients with liver transplant, the elderly group consisted of 3 female (27%) and 8 male (73%) patients, and the younger group consisted of 2 female (15%) and 11 male (85%) patients. No significant differences were shown in graft survival duration between elderly and younger kidney transplant patients (P = .443). Liver transplant recipients in the elderly group had significantly higher aspartate aminotransferase levels at month 1 versus patients in the younger group (P = .012). Among kidney transplant patients, the younger group had urine protein and creatinine values at month 3 and creatinine values at month 12 that were significantly higher than in the elderly group (P = .016; P = .043).

Transplant had positive contributions in reducing mortality and morbidity in patients in the elderly group. Transplant studies of geriatric patients will benefit surgeons working with elderly patients and the literature in this field.