Anemia after kidney transplantation in adult recipients: Prevalence and risk factors

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of anemia and appraise its risk factors at 6 months after renal transplantation. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was performed between 2008 and 2010 in 2713 adult kidney transplant recipients to determine the prevalence of posttransplantation anemia. Anemia was defined as hemoglobin concentration of 12 g/dL or less in women and 13 g/dL or less in men. Results: The prevalence of posttransplantation anemia was 52.7, with severe anemia (hemoglobin â¤11 g/dL) detected in 24.4 of patients. Impaired renal function was the only risk factor associated with anemia (odds ratio, 3.6; P = .047). However, severe anemia after kidney transplantation was correlated with female sex (P = .001), renal allograft dysfunction (P = .00), and cytomegalovirus infection (P = .002). Conclusion: The present study demonstrated a quite high prevalence of posttransplantation anemia, in particular associated with impaired renal allograft function. Severe anemia was correlated with female sex, degree of kidney graft dysfunction, and cytomegalovirus infection. © 2011 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved