Changes in Patient Symptoms After Kidney Transplantation

Immunosuppressant usage in kidney transplant recipients is commonly associated with toxicity which can manifest in a variety of adverse effects. This study aimed to compare the nature and frequency of patient-reported symptoms before and after kidney transplantation.

A single-center study was conducted involving adult kidney transplant recipients at 3 to 11 weeks post-transplantation. Patients completed a questionnaire pertaining to the prevalence of symptoms experienced a few months before and since transplantation. A paired Student's t-test and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to identify changes in the number and frequency of symptoms, respectively, with a p-value <.05 considered statistically significant.

Eighty patients completed this non-interventional study. While a similar number of symptoms (mean ± standard deviation) were experienced before and after transplantation (9.9 ± 4.8 and 9.0 ± 4.7, respectively; p = .098) there was a shift in the frequency of symptoms. Since transplantation, there was an improvement (reduced frequency) in itch (p ≤ .001), tiredness/fatigue (p = .045), nausea (p ≤ .001), headache/migraine (p ≤ .001), fidgetiness/restlessness (p = .018) and mind going blank (p = .022). However, hand tremor (p ≤.001), tremor elsewhere (p ≤.001), waking at night (p ≤.001), and dysesthesia (thermodysregulation and paresthesia) (p = .008) worsened (increased frequency), as reported by 75%, 26%, 45%, and 38% of patients, respectively.

Many patients experience tremor and dysesthesia as new symptoms or report them more frequently early after transplantation. Further research into understanding and managing these toxicities over this period is warranted.