Hepatic Dysfunction in Kidney Transplant recipients

The goal when treating patients with end stage renal disease is to increase patient survival and to provide a better quality of life , this could be achieved by kidney transplantation. Special problems associated with kidney transplantation were identified and documented and this was an essential step towards improved graft function . Hepatic dysfunction is one of these problems which need special concern . The present work was designed to evaluate hepatic dysfunction regarding prevalence, causes and its impact on both graft function and patient survival. This study comprised 447 kidney transplant recipients who recieved their grafts between January, 1999 and December, 2003 at Mansoura Urology and Nephrology centre . Among these recipients, 104 patients showed persistent hepatic dysfunction while the remaining 343 had normal liver function or transient hepatic dysfunction less than 6 months . On comparing both groups (hepatic and non hepatic) the following were concluded: 1- The prevalence of persistent hepatic dysfunction in our recipients was (23.3%). 2- HCV was a very important cause of hepatic dysfunction. 3- Duration of dialysis and frequent blood transfusion were important risk factors for HCV infection.