Rejection Rate in Kidney Transplant Recipients in Kermanshah, Iran: 1989-2016

Kidney transplant is a major form of renal replacement therapy in many patients at advanced stages of the disease. Transplant rejection is a major complication following kidney transplant that could be reversible or irreversible. The present study was done to investigate the incidence of irreversible kidney transplant rejection. A retrospective cohort study was performed using the information on 1571 renal transplants in Kermanshah, Iran, 1989 to 2016. Kaplan-Meier, Cox regression, and log-rank test were used to estimate the incidence of kidney transplant rejection 24 hr after surgery, the graft survival rate, and investigating the differences between the subgroups, respectively. The rate of acute transplant rejection was 3.82% and the rejection rates within 6 months, one and three years after the transplantation were 10.06%, 12.41%, and 18.20%, respectively. The Cox regression model showed significant correlations between age (P=0.013), creatinine level (P=0.001), and diabetes (P=0.016) and survival rate of kidney transplants. High incidence of acute rejection and rejection within six months showed the influence of some underlying factors. Further studies on underlying variables that affect transplant rejection and kidney transplantation at younger ages could be of great benefit in increasing kidney transplantation survival.