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Outcome of renal transplantation in small infants: a match-controlled analysis

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Abstract

Background

Infants with a body weight of less than 10 kg are often not considered to be suitable candidates for renal transplantation (RTx). The objective of this study was to evaluate this arbitrary weight threshold for pediatric RTx.

Methods

We conducted a multicenter, retrospective, match-controlled cohort study on infants weighing less than 10 kg at time of engrafting (low-weight group [LWG], n = 38) compared to a matched control group (n = 76) with a body weight of 10–15 kg, using data from the first 2 years post-transplant derived from the CERTAIN Registry.

Results

Patient survival was 97 and 100% in the LWG and control groups, respectively (P = 0.33), and death-censored graft survival was 100 and 95% in the LWG and control groups, respectively (P = 0.30). Estimated glomerular filtration rate at 2 years post-transplant was excellent and comparable between the groups (LWG 77.6 ± 34.9 mL/min/1.73 m2; control 74.8 ± 29.1 mL/min/1.73 m2; P = 0.68). The overall incidences of surgery-related complications (LWG 11%, control 23%; P = 0.12) and medical outcome measures (LWG 23%, control 36%, P = 0.17) were not significantly different between the groups. The medical outcome measures included transplant-related viral diseases (LWG 10%, control 21%; P = 0.20), acute rejection episodes (LWG 14%, control 29%; P = 0.092), malignancies (LWG 3%, control 0%; P = 0.33) and arterial hypertension (LWG 73%, control 67%; P = 0.57).

Conclusions

These data suggest that RTx in low-weight children is a feasible option, at least in selected centers with appropriate surgical and medical expertise.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the CERTAIN Registry through a grant from the Dietmar Hopp Stiftung and through grants from the pharmaceutical companies Astellas and Novartis.

Authorship

Study design, performance of the study, data analysis and writing of the manuscript: Marcus Weitz, Maria Schmidt, Silvio Nadalin, Guido F. Laube, Kai Krupka and Burkhard Tönshoff. Data collection and critical revision of the manuscript: Dominik Müller, Bernd Hoppe, Anja Büscher, Jens Koenig, Martin Pohl, Theresa Jungraithmayr, Florian Thiel, Lars Pape, Heiko Billing, Luisa Murer, Luca Dello Strologo, Jacek Rubik, Ryszard Grenda, Michael M. Kaabak, Rezan Topaloglu, Fatos Yalcinkaya, Nicholas Webb. All authors reviewed the manuscript, believed it represents valid work and approved it for submission.

Funding

The CERTAIN Registry is funded by a grant from the Dietmar Hopp Stiftung and grants from the pharmaceutical companies Astellas and Novartis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Paediatric Nephrology, University Children‘s Hospital Zurich, Steinwiesstrasse 75, 8032, Zurich, Switzerland

    Marcus Weitz, Guido F. Laube & Maria Schmidt

  2. Department of Paediatrics I, University Children’s Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany

    Kai Krupka & Burkhard Tönshoff

  3. Paediatric Nephrology Dialysis and Transplant Unit, Department of Woman’s and Child’s Health, Azienda Ospedaliera–University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    Luisa Murer

  4. Paediatric Nephrology, Charité Campus Virchow Hospital, Berlin, Germany

    Dominik Müller

  5. University Children’s Hospital, Bonn, Germany

    Bernd Hoppe

  6. University Children’s Hospital, Essen, Germany

    Anja Büscher

  7. University Children’s Hospital, Münster, Germany

    Jens König

  8. Department of General Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine and Neonatology, Medical Center - University Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, Freiburg, Germany

    Martin Pohl

  9. Department of Paediatric Nephrology, Children’s Hospital, Memmingen, Germany

    Therese Jungraithmayr

  10. University Children’s Hospital, Hamburg–Eppendorf, Germany

    Florian Thiel

  11. Paediatrics I, University Children’s Hospital, Tübingen, Germany

    Heiko Billing

  12. Department of Nephrology, Kidney Transplantation and Arterial Hypertension, Children’s Memorial Health Institute, Warsaw, Poland

    Ryszard Grenda & Jacek Rubik

  13. Boris Petrovsky National Research Centre of Surgery, Moscow, Russia

    Michael M. Kaabak

  14. Department of Paediatric Nephrology, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey

    Fatos Yalcinkaya

  15. Department of Paediatric Nephrology, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

    Rezan Topaloglu

  16. Department of Paediatric Nephrology and NIHR Manchester Clinical Research Facility, University of Manchester–Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK

    Nicholas Webb

  17. Renal Transplantation Unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital (OPBG), Institute for Scientific Research, Rome, Italy

    Luca Dello Strologo

  18. Department of Paediatric Nephrology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany

    Lars Pape

  19. Department of General, Visceral and Transplant Surgery, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Silvio Nadalin

Authors
  1. Marcus Weitz
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  2. Guido F. Laube
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  3. Maria Schmidt
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  4. Kai Krupka
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  5. Luisa Murer
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  6. Dominik Müller
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  7. Bernd Hoppe
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  8. Anja Büscher
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  9. Jens König
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  16. Michael M. Kaabak
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  18. Rezan Topaloglu
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  19. Nicholas Webb
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  20. Luca Dello Strologo
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  21. Lars Pape
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  22. Silvio Nadalin
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  23. Burkhard Tönshoff
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marcus Weitz.

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Conflict of interest statement

Marcus Weitz has participated on an Advisory Board for Astellas and has received lecture fees from Alexion. Burkhard Tönshoff has received research grants, travel grants and lecture fees and participated in advisory boards of Astellas, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis and Roche. Heiko Billing has received travel grants by Astellas. Lars Pape has received research grants, travel grants and lecture fees, participated in advisory boards of Astellas and Novartis and has received research grants and travel grants from Sanofi. Michael Kabaak received research grants and lecture fees and participated in the advisory board of Astellas and Alexion. Luca DelloStrologo has received lecture fees from Novartis. Nicholas Webb participated on Advisory Boards for Abbvie, Astellas, Alexion and Raptor. The other contributing authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Written informed consent to participate in the registry was obtained by all parents or guardians and patients when appropriate for their age.

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Weitz, M., Laube, G.F., Schmidt, M. et al. Outcome of renal transplantation in small infants: a match-controlled analysis. Pediatr Nephrol 33, 1057–1068 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-018-3895-5

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