Prevalence and Clinical Spectrum of Dermatologic Conditions in Renal Transplant Recipients: A 10-Year Retrospective...

The lifelong immunosuppressive therapy required to ensure graft survival in renal transplant recipients (RTRs) substantially increases their susceptibility to cutaneous infections, skin malignancies, and drug-induced dermatologic conditions. However, data on their prevalence and clinical spectrum remain limited.

To determine the prevalence and clinical spectrum of dermatologic conditions among RTRs.

A retrospective cross-sectional study design was performed using data extracted from the hospital health information system (BESTCare) to review the medical records of patients with renal transplantation who were referred for dermatologic evaluation over a ten-year period (2015-2025) at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (KAMC). Data analysis was conducted using SPSS (version 27.0). A multinomial logistic regression model was used to examine variables associated with dermatologic conditions.

A total of 338 RTRs were included; among them, 174 (51.5%) were female. Infectious conditions were the most prevalent (37.3%), followed by inflammatory (24%), drug-induced (12.4%), hair disorders (11.5%), and neoplastic (5.9%). Viral warts were the most common infectious condition (52 cases, 41.3%), followed by superficial fungal infections (23 cases, 18.3%). Among neoplastic conditions, seborrheic keratosis was the most common benign neoplasm (7 cases, 35.0%), while squamous cell carcinoma (6 cases, 30.0%) and basal cell carcinoma (4 cases, 20.0%) were the most common malignant neoplasms. In multinomial logistic regression, increasing age was independently associated with higher odds of neoplastic conditions (OR = 1.10 per year; 95% CI, 1.05-1.15; p < 0.001). Sex was significantly associated with dermatologic conditions, with males having higher odds of inflammatory conditions (OR = 1.30; p = 0.021), while females had higher odds of hair disorders (OR = 4.16; 95% CI, 1.82-9.53; p = 0.001).

Our study characterized the range of dermatologic conditions encountered in RTRs and highlighted the need to incorporate dermatologic screening and follow-up into multidisciplinary transplant care.