This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
Abstract
Background and objectives The median kidney transplant half-life is 10–15 years. Because of the scarcity of donor organs and immunologic sensitization of candidates for retransplantation, there is a need for quantitative information on if and when a second transplantation is no longer associated with a lower risk of mortality compared with waitlisted patients treated by dialysis. Therefore, we investigated the association of time on waiting list with patient survival in patients who received a second transplantation versus remaining on the waiting list.
Design, setting, participants, & measurements In this retrospective study using target trial emulation, we analyzed data of 2346 patients from the Austrian Dialysis and Transplant Registry and Eurotransplant with a failed first graft, aged over 18 years, and waitlisted for a second kidney transplantation in Austria during the years 1980–2019. The differences in restricted mean survival time and hazard ratios for all-cause mortality comparing the treatment strategies “retransplant” versus “remain waitlisted with maintenance dialysis” are reported for different waiting times after first graft loss.
Results Second kidney transplantation showed a longer restricted mean survival time at 10 years of follow-up compared with remaining on the waiting list (5.8 life months gained; 95% confidence interval, 0.9 to 11.1). This survival difference was diminished in patients with longer waiting time after loss of the first allograft; restricted mean survival time differences at 10 years were 8.0 (95% confidence interval, 1.9 to 14.0) and 0.1 life months gained (95% confidence interval, −14.3 to 15.2) for patients with waiting time for retransplantation of <1 and 8 years, respectively.
Conclusions Second kidney transplant is associated with patient survival compared with remaining waitlisted and treatment by dialysis, but the survival difference diminishes with longer waiting time.
- second kidney transplantation
- patient survival
- target trial emulation
- restricted mean survival time
- kidney transplantation
- waiting lists
- Received June 2, 2021.
- Accepted October 11, 2021.
- Copyright © 2022 by the American Society of Nephrology
If you are:
- an ASN member, select the "ASN Member" login button.
- an individual subscriber, login with you User Name and Password.
- an Institutional user, select the Institution option where you will be presented with a list of Shibboleth federations. If you do not see your federation, contact publications@asn-online.org.
ASN MEMBER LOGIN
Log in using your username and password
Log in through your institution
Purchase access
Pay Per Article - You may access this article (from the computer you are currently using) for 1 day for US$34.00