The influence of pretransplant lipoprotein abnormalities on the early results of renal transplantation

Lipoprotein patterns were investigated before and after renal transplantation in a prospective study including 151 patients. Kidney graft losses during the first 6 months were associated with higher total cholesterol (P = 0.03), LDL cholesterol (P = 0.003) and LDL triglyceride levels (P = 0.01) before transplantation. Patients with serum cholesterol > or = 6.9 mmol l-1 before transplantation had more acute rejections (1.7 vs. 0.9), a worse graft function and more vascular intimal hyperplasia and glomerular mesangial changes in transplant biopsies at 6 months. Patients with serum creatinine levels exceeding 160 mumol l-1 at 6 months had more severe lipid disorders already before transplantation. Serum creatinine at 6 months was influenced by the number of acute rejection episodes (P = 0.0001) and the age of the donor (P = 0.009) while the number of acute rejections was found to be related to pretransplant total cholesterol levels (P = 0.0086) and the age of the recipient (P = 0.025). In conclusion, pretransplant lipoprotein disturbances have an impact on the early outcome of renal transplantation. Since there is a progression of hyperlipidaemia following transplantation, this may have an influence also on the cardiovascular morbidity and late graft dysfunction.