Abstract.
We asked whether pediatric renal transplant recipients, subgrouped by age, differed in the percentage and number of hospital readmissions and in the incidence of infectious complications post transplant. Between 1 August 1985 and 31 October 1993, a total of 164 patients <18 years of age underwent primary transplants, with cyclosporine-based immunosuppression, at the University of Minnesota. The percentage of readmissions (P = NS), the mean number of readmissions (P = NS), and the length of hospital stay during readmission (P = NS) did not differ significantly among age groups. The overall incidence of acute rejection was greater in those ≥2 years than those <2 years (P = 0.002), and in living donor recipients ≥2 years versus those <2 years (P = 0.02). The incidence of bacterial infection (<2 years, 87%; 2 – 5 years, 72%; 6 – 12 years, 51%; 13 – 17 years, 40%) was greater in younger recipients (P = 0.0001). The most common bacterial infection in recipients ≤5 years was Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea; in those >5 years, urinary tract infection. The overall incidence of viral infection did not differ among groups (P = NS). The most common viral infection in recipients ≤5 years was varicella and those >5 years, cytomegalovirus infection. Risk factors for infection in the first 6 months post transplant included age <2 years and Solu-Medrol treatment for acute rejection. In conclusion, young recipients <2 years of age at the time of transplant are at a higher risk for bacterial infection post transplant.
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Received May 1, 1996; received in revised form and accepted December 16, 1996
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Chavers, B., Gillingham, K. & Matas, A. Complications by age in primary pediatric renal transplant recipients. Pediatr Nephrol 11, 399–403 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/s004670050304
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s004670050304