Prevalence, Etiologies, and Long-Term Impact of Early and Late Post-Transplant Anemia in Pediatric Kidney Transplant Recipients.
Early iron deficiency anemia after pediatric kidney transplant occurred in over half of patients
Prevalence, Etiologies, and Long-Term Impact of Early and Late Post-Transplant Anemia in Pediatric Kidney Transplant Recipients.
Anemia is a frequent complication in pediatric kidney transplant recipients and may adversely affect graft functions and long-term outcomes.
The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and causative factors of post-transplant anemia and the long-term effects of anemia on kidney functions in pediatric patients.
This retrospective study included 68 pediatric kidney transplant recipients followed for at least 6 months at a tertiary referral center.
Older age at transplantation, pre-transplant presence of iron deficiency, and lower transferrin saturation levels were significantly associated with early post-transplant anemia.
At the 6th month, patients with early post-transplant anemia had lower hemoglobin, lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and higher creatinine levels.
Late post-transplant anemia developed in 52.9% of the patients and was mostly due to iron deficiency, chronic kidney dysfunction, and rejection.
At the final visit, patients with anemia had significantly lower eGFR, higher creatinine, and more frequent proteinuria and hyperparathyroidism.
Anemia was frequently encountered after pediatric kidney transplantation. Both early and late post-transplant anemia were strongly linked to iron deficiency. Pre-transplant iron status emerged as a key modifiable risk factor.
Anemia was associated with graft dysfunction, proteinuria, hyperparathyroidism, and rejection.
In particular, patients with persistent anemia should undergo a comprehensive evaluation for potential etiological factors and be closely monitored with respect to graft functions.