A single center kidney transplant experience among ten Caucasian females with end-stage renal disease due to scleroderma .

There is limited information on kidney transplant recipients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) due to scleroderma. We conducted an observational study on kidney transplant recipients with ESRD due to scleroderma who received kidney transplant at our center between 01/1994 and 06/2013. During the study period, there were 10 kidney transplant recipients, all of whom were Caucasian females. Seven of them were living-donor kidney transplant recipients, and the mean age at time of transplant was 56.6 ± 11.99 years. The mean post-transplant follow-up was 76.75 ± 56.18 months; the mean dialysis vintage was 46.4 ± 80.35 months, ranging from 8 to 272 months; and the mean serum creatinine (Cr) levels at 3, 6, and 12 months were 1.31 ± 0.47 mg/dL, 1.35 ± 0.51 mg/dL, and 1.34 ± 0.49 mg/dL, respectively. There were 5 graft failures with median graft survival of 101 months. None had recurrence of scleroderma renal crisis. In those without graft failure, the mean serum Cr at last follow-up was 0.96 ± 0.39 mg/dL. Six patients were on angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I) after transplant. In univariate analysis, none of the factors including, age at time of transplant, dialysis vintage, use of ACE-I, living-donor transplant, cytomegalovirus infection, and serum Cr at 1 year were predictive of graft failure. In our study, we hoped to find outcomes and various factors associated with graft failure in these patients. We found a wide variation in outcomes after kidney transplantation. More studies are needed to assess the factors that may influence the graft survival in this rare disease.
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