Objectives: 1. to describe temporal trend (2008-2017) in kidney transplant (KT) provision in the Lazio Region; 2. to measure KT outcomes by comparing three different time periods; 3. to estimate the prevalence of individuals with functioning kidney transplant.
Design: cross sectional (objective 1); cohort study (objectives 2 and 3).
Setting and participants: the study population included people residing in Lazio Region who received a kidney transplant between 2008 and 2017. Participants were selected through the integration of data from different sources: the Hospital Information System, the Regional Register of Dialysis and Transplantation, and the Regional Waiting List for Kidney Transplantation.
Main outcome measures: standardised KT incidence rates x100,000 by year and age-specific rates were calculated separately for men and women. Mortality and failure of KT were considered as outcomes at one year; for both outcomes, the cumulative incidence x100 and raw and adjusted (by gender and age) incidence rates x100,000 person-day were calculated using a Poisson model. Raw and standardised prevalence rates x100,000 of people residing in Lazio Region with functioning KT at 31.12.2016 were calculated.
Results: in the study period, 1,646 KTs were performed. The KT rate increased significantly overtime, ranging between 2.9 in 2008 and 3.6 in 2017. Rates were higher for men compared to women. For men aged 65+ incidence KT rate increased significantly: 3.5 in 2008 and 7.1 in 2017. Among women, there was an increasing trend in the age groups 0-18 and 35-49 years. The one-year mortality rate decreased from 11.9 in 2008-2010 to 4.2 in 2014-2016. The failure rate was stable: 21.4 in 2008-2010 and 19.2 in 2014-2016. The number of individuals with functioning kidney transplant was 1,148. The standardised prevalence rate was 25.8 in men and 14.6 in women.
Conclusions: increased offer of renal transplantation and better outcomes were observed in Lazio region. The proposed methodology is useful for the construction of indicators to monitor over time both KT provision and outcomes.