Major trends of changes in the out-patient care after kidney transplantation in the last decade — what we can find out on the example of one transplantation center?

Abstract

Kidney transplantation has become in the last years the best renal replacement therapy for patients with end stage chronic kidney disease. Since 2006 there has been collected data concerning graft function, immunosuppressive medication and causes of death from all patients after kidney transplantation remaining under our care in the Out-Patients Clinic of the Medical University of Gdansk. In the year 2006 we took care of 613 patients in average age 47 years, 62 months after transplantation, with serum creatinine level of 1.67 mg/dL. In 2014 the number of patients has increased till 938, mean age till 53 years, average time after transplantation till 94 months, and mean serum creatinine level decreased to 1.59 mg/dL. Proportion of patients with creatinine concentration below 2 mg/dL was 79% in 2006, and 82% in 2014. The fraction of patients on old classical protocol of immunosuppressive treatment including steroid, calcineurin inhibitor, and azathioprine dropped in the last decade from 20% to 3%. Among the main causes of death in 2006 there were predominantly cardiovascular incidence in contrast to neoplasms and infections in 2014.