Background: In the context of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), renal dysfunction is used as a criterion for simultaneous liver-kidney transplantation. Changes in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) the year before and after OLT have not been well defined.
Methods: In a cohort of 416 OLT patients from 1996 to 2009, estimated GFR (eGFR) was assessed during the 12 months before OLT (period A), at time of OLT (period B), and the 12 months after OLT (period C). Outcomes included progression to end stage renal disease (ESRD), length of stay, and mortality.
Results: The overall rate of progression to ESRD over 15 years of follow-up was 0.155/person-year and was strongly associated with eGFR <60 (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.7; P < 0.001), diabetes (HR = 2.6; P < 0.001), and with a combination of the 2 (HR = 5.5; P < 0.0001). Mean eGFR decreased from period A (86 mL/min per 1.73 m) to period B (77; P < 0.001) to period C (71; P < 0.001), with similar decreases in eGFR across subgroups of clinical variables. Patients with eGFR less than 60 mL/min per 1.73 m at OLT had acute and large decreases in eGFR from periods A to B, then increases to period C. Length of stay was associated with eGFR at OLT, hepatorenal syndrome, dialysis requirement, model for end-stage liver disease score, and alcoholic liver disease. Twelve-month mortality was strongly associated with time-dependent change in eGFR, hepatorenal syndrome, dialysis requirement, hepatitis C, and model for end-stage liver disease era transplantation but was not associated with eGFR at OLT.
Conclusions: Among OLT patients, renal function worsened in all subgroups from before to after OLT, but the association of progression to ESRD was particularly high among patients with both diabetes and eGFR less than 60 at the time of OLT. This suggests that diabetes could be considered as a criterion when making decisions regarding simultaneous liver-kidney transplantation.