Background: A substantial number of patients return to dialysis therapy after a renal transplant fails. It is not clear whether mortality increases among patients with graft failure relative to those who initiate dialysis but who have not yet received a kidney transplant.
Patients and methods: We compared the outcomes of an incident cohort of patients (n = 194) with a cohort of renal transplant patients who returned to dialysis after graft loss (n = 74). We analyzed the morbidity and mortality after dialysis initiation and the parameters during the year beforehand.
Results: Mortality among post-graft loss dialysis patients was higher than transplant-naive patients (relative risk [RR]: 2.05; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.26-3.35). Additionally, complications, such as the number of hospitalizations during the first year after dialysis initiation, were higher (29% vs 57%; P > .001). At dialysis initiation no differences were found in glomerular filtration rate, although hemoglobin and albumin levels were lower and C-reactive protein was higher in post-graft loss dialysis patients.
Conclusions: Mortality among patients on dialysis therapy after graft loss increased significantly compared with mortality among patients who initiated dialysis for the first time, despite specialty physicians being aware of them. Additional studies are urgently needed to define the mechanisms of the increased risk and strategies to decrease mortality.