Postoperative outcomes of kidney transplant recipients undergoing non-transplant-related elective surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Reliable estimates of the absolute and relative risks of postoperative complications in kidney transplant recipients undergoing elective surgery are needed to inform clinical practice. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the odds of both fatal and non-fatal postoperative outcomes in kidney transplant recipients following elective surgery compared to non-transplanted patients. METHODS: Systematic searches were performed through Embase and MEDLINE databases to identify relevant studies from inception to January 2020. Risk of bias was assessed by the Newcastle Ottawa Scale and quality of evidence was summarised in accordance with GRADE methodology (grading of recommendations, assessment, development and evaluation). Random effects meta-analysis was performed to derive summary risk estimates of outcomes. Meta-regression and sensitivity analyses were performed to explore heterogeneity. RESULTS: Fourteen studies involving 14,427 kidney transplant patients were eligible for inclusion. Kidney transplant recipients had increased odds of postoperative mortality; cardiac surgery (OR 2.2, 95%CI 1.9-2.5), general surgery (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.3-4.0) compared to non-transplanted patients. The magnitude of the mortality odds was increased in the presence of diabetes mellitus. Acute kidney injury was the most frequently reported non-fatal complication whereby kidney transplant recipients had increased odds compared to their non-transplanted counterparts. The odds for acute kidney injury was highest following orthopaedic surgery (OR 15.3, 95% CI 3.9-59.4). However, there was no difference in the odds of stroke and pneumonia. CONCLUSION: Kidney transplant recipients are at increased odds for postoperative mortality and acute kidney injury following elective surgery. This review also highlights the urgent need for further studies to better inform perioperative risk assessment to assist in planning perioperative care

Assessment of cardiac structure and function in kidney failure: understanding echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging for the nephrologist

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in patients with kidney failure or on chronic dialysis. Patients on chronic dialysis have a 10- to 50-fold increased risk of sudden cardiac death compared to patients with normal kidney function. Adverse changes in cardiac structure and function may not manifest with clinical symptoms in patients with kidney failure and, therefore, pose a challenge in identifying cardiac dysfunction early. Fortunately, there are multi-modality cardiac imaging techniques available, including echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, that can help our understanding of the pathophysiology of cardiac dysfunction in kidney failure. This review describes the benefits and limitations of these two commonly available cardiac imaging modalities to assess cardiac structure and function, thereby aiding nephrologists in choosing the most appropriate investigative tool based on individual clinical circumstances. For the purposes of this review, cardiac imaging for detection of coronary artery disease has been omitted