Immediate postoperative complications in kidney transplant patients requiring ICU admission: A 20-year study

This study was undertaken to evaluate the immediate postoperative complications in renal transplant recipients requiring Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. All renal transplant recipients with immediate post-transplantation complications (<1 week) admitted to our ICU from 1992 to 2012 were studied. Patients' characteristics, transplant variables and prognosis were evaluated and data were analyzed to identify factors of outcome. Over the study period 13 men and 3 women, (26.2 % of renal transplant recipients requiring ICU admission) aged 45.4±10 years, were included in the study. APACHE II and SOFA scores on ICU admission were 17.8±4.6 and 8.4±3.6 respectively. The main immediate post-transplantation complications requiring ICU management were the surgical procedure in five patients and acute respiratory failure in four. Seven patients required catecholamines on ICU admission and six patients required hemodialysis. The mortality rate was 25% vs 51.1% of other renal transplant recipients requiring ICU admission and 30% of the general ICU population. No studied factor was independently related to the mortality. Renal transplant recipients with severe immediate postoperative complications requiring ICU admission had a lower mortality rate than that of the other renal transplant recipients requiring ICU management and that of the general ICU population.