Association Between Preoperative Pulmonary Risk Scores and Postoperative Complications in Renal Transplant Recipients

Abstract

Objectives: Patients who are being considered for renal transplant must undergo thorough preoperative pulmonary evaluation to determine risk of post operative pulmonary complications. The aim of this study was to determine the relation between the preoperative pulmonary risk factor score and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing renal transplant.

Materials and Methods: Medical records of patients who underwent renal transplant at our institution between 2004 and 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. Patient demographics, smoking history, comorbidities, and preoperative pulmonary risk factors (age, oxygen saturation, hemoglobin level, type of incision, duration of surgery, history of lower respiratory tract infection 1 month before surgery, urgency of surgery), and type of pulmonary complications within 1 month after transplant were recorded.

Results: Our study included 131 patients (94 male patients; mean age of 38.25 +/- 12.96 y). Of total patients, 21(16%) developed complications during the first month after transplant, with 10 of the 21 (7.6% overall) developing pulmonary complications. These complications were pleural effusion (2 patients), pneumonia (3 patients), respiratory failure (2 patients), and pulmonary embolism (1 patient). There were no deaths directly attributed to the pulmonary complications. A significant correlation was observed between the preoperative pulmonary risk factor score and postoperative pulmonary complications in renal transplant recipients (P =.003). A positive correlation between the preoperative pulmonary scores and postoperative pulmonary complications existed among life-long nonsmokers (r = 0.371; P =.003).

Conclusions: Renal transplant is an established modality in treatment of chronic renal failure. Prevention of pulmonary complications is essential for successful outcomes following transplant. Health care professionals involved with renal transplant and transplant centers should be aware of preoperative pulmonary risk factors. Patients should be observed so that these risk factors can be reduced before planned transplant. Moreover, we also suggest that smoking history should be considered as a preoperative pulmonary risk factor as it was found to be a factor leading to postoperative pulmonary complications in our study.