Outcomes of renal transplantation in patients with major lower limb amputation

Introduction The impact of severe peripheral vascular disease on graft survival in patients undergoing renal transplantation is poorly defined. The aim of our study is to establish outcomes in renal transplant recipients who have severe peripheral vascular disease necessitating major lower limb amputation. Methods Data for patients undergoing renal transplantation from January 2001–December 2010 was extracted from a regional transplantation database. Patients undergoing lower limb amputation pre- and post-transplantation were identified and outcome measures including delayed graft function, biopsy-proven acute rejection, serum creatinine level at 1 year, and graft loss and recipient survival at 1 year and long-term were compared with patients who did not undergo amputation. Student t and Pearson's chi-squared tests were used to compare patients with and without amputation and Kaplan-Meier curves were used for survival analysis. A P value < .05 is considered statistically significant. Results A total of 762 patients underwent renal transplantation. Four (0.5%) patients had an amputation before transplantation and 16 (2.1%) underwent amputation after transplantation. Serum creatinine levels at 1 year were significantly higher in patients who had amputation after transplantation (308.5 ± 60.8 μmol/l vs 177.6 ± 6.4 μmol/l; P = .03). During longer follow-up (mean: 2053.1 ± 58.3 days), patients who underwent amputation after transplantation had a higher rate of graft loss (P < .01) and higher death rate (P < .01). Conclusion The requirement for amputation after renal transplantation is associated with poor long-term graft and patient survival and higher serum creatinine levels at 1 year. Patients at increased risk of severe peripheral vascular disease should be identified and measures taken to reduce the long-term risk.