Post-transplant venous thromboembolic events and their effect on graft survival.

Abstract

Venous thromboembolic events (VTEs) are a major cause of post-operative morbidity and mortality. Our objective is to establish the prevalence of VTEs in kidney transplant recipients and assess its impact on graft survival. Data regarding renal transplant patients with VTEs from 1985 to 2010 were identified and analyzed. After excluding recipients of combined grafts and late VTE development, 1596 recipients were included in this analysis. The prevalence of post-operative VTEs and graft survival were determined. Cox regression was used to analyze the survival data and data on prognostic (confounding) variables. The observed prevalence of VTEs in kidney transplant recipients was 1.6%. Of the 1596 kidney recipients, 25 recipients who developed VTEs had a mean graft survival of 12.3 years (compared with 20.5 years in patients without). The hazard ratio was 1.1 (95% confidence interval: 0.4-3.0, P = 0.447). The prevalence of VTEs post kidney transplantation is small. Although it did not reach statistical significance, it increased the risk of graft failure by 30%.