Kidney Transplantation

The purpose of this study was to compare the short-term and long-term kidney transplant outcomes in diabetic and nondiabetic patients. We studied all kidney recipients in Golestan hospital, Ahwaz, from 1995 to 2003. The patients were divided into two groups of diabetic and nondiabetic, and 1-year, 2-year, and 5-year survival rates of the patient and the kidney were evaluated. We also evaluated and compared the causes of death between these two groups. There were 50 diabetic patients with a mean age of 51 years, and 350 nondiabetic patients with the mean age of 29 years old (P =. 03). One-year, 2-year, and 5-year graft survival rates were 90% versus 91.5%, 86% versus 89%, and 76% versus 83% in diabetic and nondiabetic patients, respectively (P =. 19). The patient survival rates were 92% versus 93%, 88% versus 91%, and 76% versus 84% in diabetic and nondiabetic patients, respectively. The most common cause of death was myocardial infarction in diabetic patients (50%), and septicemia among the nondiabetic ones (50%). The most common cause of kidney allograft loss was patient''s death (75%) in diabetic patients and kidney rejection (40%) in nondiabetics. Long-term kidney transplantation results have been significantly improved comparing with other studies. Thus, kidney transplantation is recommended as the treatment of choice in diabetic patients with end-stage renal disease. However, a complete evaluation of cardiac problems for these patients is recommended before the surgery.