Early and long-term outcomes of deceased-donor kidney transplant in recipients 70 years of age and older

Abstract

Introduction. The high prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has a negative impact on the length and quality of life of patients, especially in the older age group. Renal replacement therapy is required when the disease progresses to end-stage renal failure. In elderly patients with comorbidities, dialysis therapy has its own peculiarities and challenges, often prolonging life for a short period. The increase in the number of patients aged ≥70 years requesting to be placed in the kidney transplant waitlist (KTWL) at Sklifosovsky Research Institu- te of Emergency Care has led to the need to evaluate kidney transplant (KT) outcomes in this patient cohort.Objective. To analyze the early and long-term outcomes of deceased-donor KT in recipients aged ≥70 years.Materials and methods. The retrospective study included 23 kidney recipients aged ≥70 years who underwent a deceased-donor KT in the period from 2014 to 2023 at the Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation Department, Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Care. Recipient survival was computed using the Kaplan–Meier estimate.Results. Sixteen recipients (69.6%) had primary function and 7 (30.4%) had delayed function. Nineteen recipients (82.6%) showed a drop in blood creatinine below 200 μmol/L after KT. Hospital, 1- and 3-year survival were 96% (n = 22), 84.8% [95% CI 72–95] and 79% [95% CI 65–92], respectively; 1- and 3-year graft survival were 84.8 [95% CI 72–95] and 73% [95% CI 59–87], respectively.Conclusion. KT for patients aged ≥70 is a feasible treatment option for CKD stage 5.

Keywords

• transplantation
• kidney recipients aged ≥70
• recipient survival
• kidney graft survival
• kidney transplant outcomes