Hyperuricemia after orthotopic liver transplantation: divergent associations with progression of renal disease, incident end-stage renal disease, and mortality.

BACKGROUND

Although hyperuricemia is common after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), its relationship to mortality, progressive kidney disease, or the development of end stage renal disease (ESRD) is not well-described.

METHODS

Data from 304 patients undergoing OLT between 1996 and 2010 were used to assess the association of mean serum uric acid (UA) level in the 3-months post-OLT with mortality, doubling of creatinine, and ESRD incidence. Post-OLT survival to event outcomes according to UA level and eGFR was assessed using the Kaplan Meier method and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models.

RESULTS

Mean UA level among the 204 patients with an eGFR level ≥60 ml/min/1.73 m was 6.4 mg/dl compared to 7.9 mg/dl among the 100 patients with eGFR <60 (p < 0.0001). During a median of 4.6 years of follow-up, mortality rate, doubling of creatinine, and ESRD incidence were 48.9, 278.2, and 20.7 per 1000 person-years, respectively. In the first 5 years of follow-up, elevated UA was associated with mortality (Hazard Ratio, HR = 1.7; p = 0.045). However, among those with eGFR ≥ 60, UA level did not predict mortality (HR = 1.0; p = 0.95), and among those with eGFR < 60, elevated UA was a strong predictor of mortality (HR = 3.7[1.1, 12.0]; p = 0.03). UA was not associated with ESRD, but was associated with doubling of creatinine among diabetics (HR = 2.2[1.1, 4.3]; p = 0.025).

CONCLUSION

In this post-OLT cohort, hyperuricemia independently predicted mortality, particularly among patients with eGFR < 60, and predicted doubling of creatinine among diabetics.