Pretransplantation hemodialysis strategy influences early renal graft function

The influence of the pretransplantation hemodialysis strategy on early renal graft function was evaluated in 44 patients receiving hemodialysis in the 24 h preceding kidney transplantation and in 13 patients receiving hemodialysis more than 24 h before transplantation. The patients dialyzed less than 24 h before transplantation were stratified according to treatment with or without complement-activating dialyzers (cuprophane, bioincompatible membrane [BICM] versus polysulfone, biocompatible membrane [BCM]) and with or without ultrafiltration (UF). Serum creatinine (Scr) at days 0, 2, 5, 10, and 30, the time for Scr to decrease 50% (T1/2Scr), the incidence of acute renal failure (ARF; defined as urinary volume < 500 ml/d and/or necessity for posttransplantation hemodialysis), and early graft dysfunction (defined as T1/2Scr > 3.5 d) were registered. Scr was higher in BCM- versus BICM-treated patients (P < 0.0001 by variance analysis) and in patients receiving UF versus those receiving no UF (P = 0.0009). T1/2Scr was higher in treatment with BICM versus BCM (7.4 +/- 7.9 versus 3.1 +/- 2.9 d; P < 0.05) and UF versus no UF (7.1 +/- 7.7 versus 2.7 +/- 2.0 d; P < 0.01). The evolution of Scr was markedly more favorable in the patient group treated with BCM without UF (T1/2Scr 1.7 +/- 0.8 d) compared with the group treated with BICM and UF (T1/2Scr 9.3 +/- 9.1 d; P < 0.01). The remaining groups (BICM without UF and BCM with UF) showed intermediate results. The incidence of ARF and early graft dysfunction was higher in the group on BICM with UF compared to BCM without UF. Functional differences persisted up to 1 mo after transplantation. Patients who underwent dialysis with UF more than 24 h before transplantation had a more beneficial evolution of renal function parameters than those who were dialyzed with UF less than 24 h before transplantation. In conclusion, the use of BICM and the application of UF within 24 h before kidney transplantation enhance the risk of posttransplantation ARF and early graft dysfunction.