Delayed Renal Graft Function in the Early Post-Transplant Period and its Impact on the Late Post-Transplant Results

Delayed renal graft function (DGF) is a frequent complication with negative impact on the course of early post-transplantation period. The data concerning the impact on the late results are contradictory. This study describes results of 5-year follow-up of 248 recipients after deceased donor renal transplantation. All patients were divided into two groups: with delayed graft function (DGF, n = 53) and immediate graft function, considered as the control group (IGF, n = 195). We evaluated factors that were associated with development of DGF and its impact on the survival of graft and recipient, and frequency of acute rejections and chronic dysfunctions. The rate of observed DGF was 21.4%. Its development was associated with the following factors: age of recipient and their weight, age of donor and their body mass index, high frequency of asystole/hypotension in donors prior to organ explantation (P < 0.05 for all), and longer time of cold ischemia (P = 0.058). The DGF group had higher rate of acute rejections (P < 0.001), and also lower 1.5 and 5-year graft survival and 1.5-year patient survival (P < 0.05 for all). The conclusion is that DGF has negative impact on the survival of renal grafts and patients, especially during the first 1.5 years after transplantation.