Vascular Health and Risk Management (Aug 2011)
Renal artery stenosis in kidney transplants: assessment of the risk factors
Abstract
Jalal Etemadi1, Khosro Rahbar2, Ali Nobakht Haghighi2, Nazila Bagheri2, Kianoosh Falaknazi2, Mohammad Reza Ardalan1, Kamyar Ghabili3, Mohammadali M Shoja31Department of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, 2Department of Nephrology, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 3Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IranBackground: Transplant renal artery stenosis (TRAS) is an important cause of hypertension and renal allograft dysfunction occurring in kidney transplant recipients. However, conflicting predisposing risk factors for TRAS have been reported in the literature.Objective: The aim of the present study was to assess the potential correlation between possible risk factors and TRAS in a group of living donor renal transplant recipients 1 year after the renal transplantation.Methods: We evaluated the presence of renal artery stenosis in 16 recipients who presented with refractory hypertension and/or allograft dysfunction 1 year after renal transplantation. Screening for TRAS was made by magnetic resonance angiography and diagnosis was confirmed by conventional renal angiography. Age, gender, history of acute rejection, plasma lipid profile, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, serum uric acid, calcium phosphate (CaPO4) product, alkaline phosphatase, fasting blood sugar, hemoglobin, and albumin were compared between the TRAS and non-TRAS groups.Results: Of 16 kidney transplant recipients, TRAS was diagnosed in three patients (two men and one woman). High levels of calcium, phosphorous, CaPO4 product, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were significantly correlated with the risk of TRAS 1 year after renal transplantation (P < 0.05). Serum level of uric acid tended to have a significant correlation (P = 0.051).Conclusion: Correlation between high CaPO4 product, LDL cholesterol, and perhaps uric acid and TRAS in living donor renal transplant recipients 1 year after renal transplantation might suggest the importance of early detection and tight control of these potential risk factors.Keywords: transplant renal artery stenosis, atherosclerosis, calcium phosphate product, low density lipoprotein, uric acid
