Endocrine complications after solid organ transplantation in childhood and adolescents.

Objective: Acute or chronic metabolic derangement following solid organ transplantation (SOT) often leads to endocrine complications, which have become more common as survival rates post-SOT have improved. This study was performed to investigate long-term endocrine complications after SOT in children and adolescents.

Methods: This study included 259 pediatric patients who underwent SOT, including kidney (n = 43), liver (n = 170), lung (n = 5), heart (n = 37), and multi-organ (n = 4), with a minimum follow-up period of 5 years post-transplant. Clinical and endocrinological data were retrospectively collected, including information on growth, obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia, thyroid disease, bone health, and pubertal development.

Results: Of 259 patients, 203 (78.4%) developed endocrine complications over a median follow-up period of 10.5 years (range, 5.5-16.8). Short stature was common in kidney (58.1%) and multi-organ recipients (100%), whereas the highest rates of obesity were observed in liver recipients (43.5%). Kidney or liver recipients under 13 years of age showed significant improvements in height-standard deviation scores within 5 years post-SOT. Discontinuation of corticosteroids was associated with a reduced risk of short stature 10 years after liver transplantation. Heart recipients had a high prevalence of post-transplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM, 27%). Other endocrine complications included dyslipidemia (40.2%), hypothyroidism (2.8%), and low bone mineral density (31.3%). Among liver recipients, pretransplant obesity was a significant risk factor for development of post-transplant obesity, PTDM, and dyslipidemia. Additionally, liver transplantation at 0-1 years of age increased the risk of obesity, while transplantation at 6-12 years of age, cyclosporine use, and allograft rejection were associated with an increased risk of dyslipidemia.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates that endocrine and metabolic complications are common in pediatric SOT recipients. Effective surveillance and management of these sequelae are crucial to improve long-term quality of life following SOT.