Prevalence of renal pathological disorders in kidney transplant recipients: an observational study in the north of Iran

Introduction: There are possible adverse effects and pathological disorders that can occur after kidney transplantation. The prevalence of these outcomes in kidney transplant patients is different worldwide. Objectives: In this study, we decided to take a general look at the prevalence of pathological disorders in kidney transplant patients undergoing biopsy. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 206 kidney transplant recipients who underwent biopsy of transplanted kidney at Razi medical education center in Rasht city between 2008 and 2019. Information was collected from medical records and interviewing patients. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 26. They were summarized as the mean (SD) or as median (IQR). The frequency distribution (percentage) was conducted to describe the qualitative variables. Results: Out of 206 patients, 143 (69.4%) were male and the mean age at transplantation was 46.7±13.6 years. About 42.72% were non-relative donors, 47.57% were brain dead donors and 9.71% were family donors. The most common pathological disorder was nephrotoxic caused by calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) (41.75%) and the most common type of graft rejection was antibody-dependent graft rejection (46.12%). In terms of transplant outcome, 35.92% of the patients suffered transplant rejection and 23.3% of them died. The results of this study did not show a significant relationship between the administration of immunosuppressive drugs and the pathological disorders. Conclusion: The present study showed that the most common pathological disorder in kidney transplant patients was CNIs nephrotoxicity, and the most common type of transplant rejection was antibody-dependent transplant rejection.