The risk of renal allograft rejection following angiography

In a retrospective study of 173 immediately functioning primary kidney transplants correlation between angiography and renal allograft rejection was studied during the first 14 days. Rejection was more frequent in kidneys undergoing angiography compared to those not angiographied. In kidneys undergoing angiography an overwhelming number of rejections started the day after angiography. These differences could not be explained by differences in HL-A matching or the origin of the kidney. The findings indicate that angiography might elicite an acute rejection. A possible mechanism for starting this reaction might be activation of the complement system.