Background: Compared with the impact of delayed graft function (DGF) after renal transplantation, DGF after pancreas transplantation has not been fully evaluated.
Methods: We retrospectively verified the impact of DGF on long-term pancreas graft survival in surgically successful cases. Pancreas graft failure was defined by the recipient's return to exogenous insulin administration.
Results: Between May 2004 and April 2013, we performed 135 technically successful primary pancreas transplantations. Delayed graft function was defined as a total cumulative insulin requirement of 19 UI or greater within postoperative 7 days. Of the 135 recipients in our study cohort, 47 (34.8%) developed DGF after the pancreas transplantation. By multivariate analysis, DGF was found to be associated with a donor age of 30 years or older (odds ratio, 3.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.50-7.69; P=0.003) and the increased ratio of body mass index in a recipient to a donor (odds ratio, 26.1; 95% confidence interval, 2.53-270.0; P=0.006). There was a trend toward higher acute rejection (P=0.622) and mortality (P=0.49) rates in recipients with versus without DGF, although this did not reach statistical significance. Delayed graft function was found to be associated with a greater risk of overall pancreas graft failure (P=0.016) and death-censored graft failure (P=0.037).
Conclusion: Delayed graft function after pancreas transplantation was found to be associated with a greater risk of overall pancreas graft failure and death-censored graft failure.