Transplantation 2021 Mar 26. Epub 2021 Mar 26.
Division of Pediatric Nephrology and Gastroenterology, Medical University Vienna, Austria ESPN/ERA-EDTA Registry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Department of Medical Informatics, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Pediatric Nephrology, University Medical Center Ljubljana, Slovenia; Division of Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Norway; Children's Medical Center, Landspitali-The National University Hospital of Iceland, and Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland; Karolinska Institutet- Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Pediatrics, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria; Department of Pediatric Nephrology and Transplantation, New Children's Hospital, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Erasmus MC- Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Nephrology Unit, University Children's Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland; S.C. Nefrologia e Dialisi, Azienda Ospefaliero-Universitaria di Perugia, Perugia, Italy; Department of Kidney Transplantation, Russian Children's Federal Clinical Hospital of Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russia; Department of Pediatric Nephrology, University Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain; Faculty of Medicine Seyhan, Adana Dr. Turgut Noyan Training and Research Center, Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Başkent University, Adana, Turkey; Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany; 1st Pediatric Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; 1st Department of Pediatrics, Semmelweis University Budapest, Budapest, Hungary; Pediatric Nephrology Unit, University Hospital of Nantes, Nantes, France; Department ofNephrology, Kidney Transplantation & Hypertension, The Children's Memorial Health Institute, Warsaw, Poland; Department of Nephrology, University Children's hospital, Belgrade, Serbia; Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Motol, 2nd Medical Faculty and Faculty of Medicine in Plzen, Charles University Prague and Biomedical Centre, Prague, Czech Republic; Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom; Division of Pediatrics, Department of Medicine, University of Udine, Udine, Italy; Pediatric Nephrology Unit, Bordeaux University Hospital, Bordeaux, France; Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Emma Children's Hospital, Academic Medical Center, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Background: Many centers accept a minimum body weight of 10 kg as threshold for kidney transplantation (Tx) in children. As solid evidence for clinical outcomes in multinational studies is lacking, we evaluated practices and outcomes in European children weighing below 10 kg at Tx.
Methods: Data were obtained from the ESPN/ERA-EDTA Registry on all children who started kidney replacement therapy (KRT) at <2.5 years of age and received a Tx between 2000 and 2016. Weight at Tx was categorized (<10 kg versus ≥10 kg) and Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate its association with graft survival.
Results: One hundred of the 601 children received a Tx below a weight of 10 kg during the study period. Primary renal disease groups were equal, but Tx <10 kg patients had lower pre-Tx weight gain per year (0.2 kg versus 2.1 kg; p<0.001) and had a higher preemptive Tx rate (23% versus 7%; p<0.001). No differences were found for posttransplant estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFR) trajectories (p=0.23).The graft failure risk was higher in Tx <10 kg patients at 1 year (graft survival: 90% versus 95%; aHR: 3.84, 95% CI: 1.24-11.84), but not at 5 years (aHR: 1.71, 95% CI: 0.68-4.30).
Conclusions: Despite a lower 1-year graft survival rate, graft function and survival at 5 years were identical in Tx <10 kg patients when compared with Tx ≥10 kg patients. Our results suggest that early transplantation should be offered to a carefully selected group of patients weighing <10 kg.