Pretransplant HbA1c Is a Useful Predictor for the Development of New-Onset Diabetes in Renal Transplant Recipients Receiving No or Low-Dose Erythropoietin

Aims. To evaluate the predictive power of pretransplant HbA1c for new-onset diabetes after transplantation (NODAT) in kidney transplant candidates, who had several predispositions for fluctuated HbA1c levels. Methods. We performed a retrospective study of 119 patients without diabetes who received kidney transplantation between March 2000 and January 2012. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the association of several parameters with NODAT. Predictive discrimination of HbA1c was assessed using a receiver-operating characteristic curve. Results. Seventeen patients (14.3%) developed NODAT within 1 year of transplantation. Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that recipient age, gender, and HbA1c were predictors of NODAT. In the multivariate analysis, the association between pretransplant HbA1c and NODAT development did not reach statistical significance ( = 0.07). To avoid the strong influence of high-dose erythropoietin on HbA1c levels, we performed subgroup analyses on 85 patients receiving no or low-dose (≤6000 IU/week) erythropoietin. HbA1c was again an independent predictor for NODAT. Receiver-operating characteristic analysis revealed a cut-off value of 5.2% with an optimal sensitivity of 64% and specificity of 78% for predicting NODAT. Conclusions. Our results reveal that the pretransplant HbA1c level is a useful predictor for NODAT in patients receiving no or low-dose erythropoietin

Limited utility of blood cultures in the management of febrile outpatient kidney transplant recipients

Background/Purpose: Blood cultures for patients suspected of having bacteremia are standard practice, although several studies demonstrate that blood cultures have limited utility because of a low true-positive rate and infrequent resultant changes in antibiotic treatment. However, most reports exclude immunocompromised patients such as transplant recipients. We assessed the utility of blood cultures in transplant recipients hospitalized for community-acquired infections and evaluated clinical characteristics to predict bacteremia. Methods: This retrospective study included 136 febrile cases in 97 kidney transplant recipients admitted to our hospital for whom blood cultures were performed between February 2001 and March 2013. Results: Among the 136 cases, blood cultures were positive, contaminated, and negative in seven (5.1%) cases, 12 (8.8%) cases, and 117 cases (86.1%), respectively. All bacteria detected in the seven cases were sensitive to the initial empirical antibiotics. Antibiotic treatment was changed based on the blood culture results only in one case for which the coverage was narrowed. The white blood cell count and C-reactive protein level were significantly higher in the patients with bacteremia. The predictive model based on these two factors successfully identified the high-risk group with a sensitivity and specificity of 86% and 91%, respectively. Conclusion: Among the outpatient kidney transplant recipients, positive blood cultures were uncommon and scarcely affected antibiotic therapy, especially in patients with upper respiratory tract or urinary tract infections. Therefore, it may be reasonable to perform blood cultures only for patients with marked leukocytosis and high C-reactive protein level, even among transplant recipients