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Background: Controversial issues in registering candidates for deceased-donor kidney transplantation (DDKT) comprise various factors, including age, life expectancy, and dialysis duration. We investigated patient characteristics on the waiting list and discussed suitable criteria in Japan, which has a long waiting period., Methods: This study included 592 patients on the waiting list for DDKT at our institute between 1982 and 2023. We retrospectively reviewed patients' medical charts and obtained their clinical information. Patient characteristics according to outcomes and eligibility criteria for applying for or renewing registration were investigated. No prisoners were used in the study, and the participants were neither coerced nor paid., Results: Approximately 70%, 45%, and 14.5% of the registered patients were aged >60, >70, and 80 years, respectively. The number of patients aged ≥70 years gradually decreased over time. The median waiting periods of patients who underwent and interrupted DDKT were 13 and 7 years, respectively. Patients in their 70s with a >15-year dialysis period tended to have opportunities for DDKT. Living-donor kidney transplantation was performed in patients aged <60 years. Waiting patients were significantly younger and had a shorter dialysis duration. Advanced age at registration was associated with a significantly high risk of interruption., Conclusions: Advanced age and longer dialysis periods were considered at registration because patients with these factors tended to experience interruptions despite the long waiting period and high cost. Although older patients can undergo DDKT, factors including surgical cost and risks are considered. Eligibility/ineligibility criteria should be established for DDKT waiting lists in Japan., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Living kidney donors are evaluated to determine their physical and psychological suitability for transplantation and ensure their safety. During this process, we frequently encounter cases where a donor is found to be ineligible. In this study, we surveyed donors who are ineligible for transplantation at our hospital to educate patients, their families, and medical staff regarding transplantation in the future., Methods: We examined the proportion of ineligible donors among 237 potential donors who visited our hospital between January 2002 and March 2022. Data were collected retrospectively from electronic medical records and evaluated from various aspects such as age, body mass index, medical history, medications, and renal function., Results: The mean age at presentation was 55.5 years, the male-to-female ratio was 1:1.6, and no significant difference was found between the ineligible and eligible donor groups. The transplant ineligibility rate was 23.6%, and the categories were for medical, backout, immunologic, and recipient-related reasons, in descending order. Furthermore, a low glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was the most common cause of medical cases., Conclusions: Many patients were judged ineligible because of lifestyle-related diseases such as low GFR, diabetes mellitus, and obesity. Therefore, thorough patient education should be conducted using these data as a reference to reduce the number of donors ineligible because of lifestyle-related diseases., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: To investigate the emotional attributes and vaccine implementation rate of patients waiting for kidney transplants during the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic., Methods: We included 145 patients who were on the waiting list at our institution. Clinical information was obtained from medical charts, and emotional changes were assessed using a telephone questionnaire comprising 13 questions, including vaccine implementation. We also investigated factors affecting the decision to accept or decline deceased-donor kidney transplantation during the COVID-19 pandemic., Results: Of the 145 patients, 121 (83.4%) provided informed consent and completed the questionnaire. The median age at registration on the waiting list for deceased-donor kidney transplantation and the median waiting period was 45.5 years and 103 months, respectively. This cohort comprised 84 males and 37 females. Twenty patients (16.5%) were diagnosed with COVID-19, and 15 (12.4%) were more curious about deceased-donor kidney transplantation. One hundred patients (82.6%) were vaccinated against COVID-19 more than thrice. Thirty patients (24.8%) declined, and 91 patients (75.2%) accepted an organ transplant offer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Multivariate analysis revealed that the long-term waiting period (P = .038) and anxiety about COVID-19, such as visiting the transplant facility (P < .0001) and prudence over time (P < .0001), were independent factors influencing the decline of a kidney transplant offer., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that some patients hesitated to undergo deceased-donor kidney transplantation during the pandemic. There is a need to develop an appropriate system to ensure safe and secure kidney transplantation during prolonged pandemics., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board for Clinical Studies of Nara Medical University (Medical Ethics Committee ID: NMU-2952) and was conducted in compliance with its protocol and the provisions of the 2013 Declaration of Helsinki. Oral informed consent was obtained from all patients on the WL for DDKT, following an explanation of the study objectives and protocol, which was documented in the patients’ medical charts. The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available owing to our hospital policy but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: To investigate the quality of life (QOL) of patients with nocturia after kidney transplantation (KT) and the association between nocturnal polyuria and sleep quality., Methods: In a cross-sectional study, a patient who consented was evaluated using the following items: international prostate symptom QOL score, nocturia-quality of life score, overactive bladder symptom score, Pittsburgh sleep quality index, bladder diary, uroflowmetry, and bioimpedance analysis. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained from medical charts., Results: Forty-three patients were included in the analysis. Approximately 25% of patients urinated once at night, and 58.1% had nocturia twice. Nocturnal polyuria was observed in 86.0% of patients, and overactive bladder was observed in 23.3% of patients. According to the Pittsburgh sleep quality Index, 34.9% of patients had poor sleep quality. Multivariate analysis revealed that patients with nocturnal polyuria tended to have a high estimated glomerular filtration rate (P = .058). On the other hand, multivariate analysis for poor sleep quality revealed that high body fat percentage and low nocturia-quality of life total score were independently correlated factors (P = .008 and P = .012, respectively). Furthermore, the patients with nocturia ≥3/night were significantly older than those with nocturia ≤2/night (P = .022)., Conclusion: Nocturnal polyuria, poor sleep quality, and aging may decrease the QOL of patients with nocturia after KT. Further investigations, including optimal water intake and interventions, can lead to better management after KT., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Various donor characteristics have been reported as predictive factors for graft survival in kidney transplantations. The living kidney donor profile index (LKDPI) was established in 2016 to evaluate the quality of living donor kidneys. Herein, we verified whether the index score was associated with graft survival and analyzed various donor factors to identify predictors of graft survival in living donor kidney transplantations., Methods: This retrospective study included 130 patients who received a living donor kidney between 2006 and 2019 at our hospital. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained from the medical records. Living donor kidneys were categorized into 3 groups by LKDPI score, and the death-censored graft survival and predictors of graft survival were evaluated., Results: The median LKDPI score was 35 (IQR: 17-53). The index scores of the living donor kidneys in this study were higher than in previous studies. The groups with the highest scores (LKDPI >40) had significantly shorter death-censored graft survival compared with the group with the lowest scores (LKDPI <20; hazard ratio = 4.0, P = .005). There were no significant differences between the group with the middle scores (LKDPI, 20-40) and the other 2 groups. Donor/recipient weight ratio <0.9, ABO incompatibility, and 2 HLA-DR mismatches were identified as independent predictive factors for shorter graft survival., Conclusion: The LKDPI was correlated with death-censored graft survival in this study. However, more studies are required to establish a modified index that is more accurate for Japanese patients., Competing Interests: DISCLOSURES The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Recent studies indicate that split renal function calculated by computed tomography (CT) volumetry is equally or more useful than that calculated by nuclear renography for donated kidney side selection. However, it remains unclear if CT volumetry accurately reflects split renal function as measured by nuclear renography. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the reproducibility of CT volumetry., Methods: Data from 141 donors who underwent living donor nephrectomy at Nara Medical University from March 2007 to June 2021 were reviewed. The correlation and agreement between the predicted postdonation estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) by 99m Tc-diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid (DTPA) scintigraphy and by CT volumetry were evaluated by the Pearson's correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman analysis, respectively. Moreover, a comparison in split renal function categorization between 99m Tc-DTPA scan and CT volumetry was performed., Results: A total of 133 donors were included in the analysis. There was high correlation between the predicted postdonation eGFR by 99m Tc-DTPA scintigraphy and by CT. Moreover, there was agreement in the predicted postdonation eGFR between 99m Tc-DTPA scintigraphy and CT volumetry (Bland-Altman analysis [bias, 95% limits of agreement]; 0.83%, -5.6% to 7.3%). However, in one of 17 donors with absolute split renal function greater than 10% by 99m Tc-DTPA scintigraphy, this clinically significant difference was missed by CT volumetry., Conclusion: There are donors for whom a clinically significant split renal function is not accurately reflected in CT volumetry. Future studies need to amend this discrepancy., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Tacrolimus (TAC) has several problems due to its narrow therapeutic window and variations pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Recently, several studies reported that TAC metabolism, defined by TAC blood trough concentration to dose (C/D) ratio, was associated with TAC toxicity. Reports on once-daily extended-release TAC (TAC-ER) are limited. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of the TAC metabolic rate on TAC-ER and compare TAC area under the curve (AUC) between fast and slow metabolizers., Methods: A total of 58 recipients were included in this study. The optimal cut-off value and time of the C/D ratio on TAC-ER for fast and slow metabolizers was determined using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for biopsy-proven calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) nephrotoxicity., Results: The optimal time to evaluate the C/D ratio was 1 month after kidney transplantation (KT) and the cut-off value was 0.9. The multivariate analysis for CNI nephrotoxicity risk showed that only TAC metabolism was associated with CNI nephrotoxicity (hazard ratio 10.60, P = .005, 95% CI 2.03-55.22). Cytomegalovirus infection occurred more frequently in fast metabolizers when the cut-off value of the C/D ratio was set to 0.9 at 3 months after KT (P = .04). The TAC C 4 , AUC 2-8 , was higher in fast metabolizers than in slow metabolizers (P < .01, P = .03, respectively)., Conclusion: The study revealed that TAC fast metabolizers on TAC-ER may be classified as a high-risk group for CNI nephrotoxicity and cytomegalovirus infection. The result of TAC AUC supported the hypothesis that fast metabolizers tended to be overexposed to immunosuppressive agents early after oral administration., Competing Interests: DISCLOSURE The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Preservation of remnant renal function (RRF) is one of the major concerns among living kidney donors (LKDs). A comprehensive assessment is needed to predict the RRF. In this prospective study, we investigated the roles of histologic findings from a 1-hour allograft biopsy in predicting the RRF., Methods: Our prospective study included 116 LKDs who underwent donor nephrectomy (DN) at our institute. Clinical and radiographic data were obtained from their medical charts. Renal volume parameters were calculated using the preoperative computed tomographic images in the volume analyzer SYNAPSE VINCENT image analysis system. Tissues obtained from allograft biopsy were examined. RRF was defined as the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 12 months after DN., Results: Of 116 LKDs, 95 were finally evaluated. The median age of the LKDs at DN and the preoperative eGFR were 57 years and 80.0 mL/min/1.73 m 2 , respectively. In the histologic analysis, 68 allografts (71.6%) had nonspecific findings involving the glomerulus, vessel, and tubulointerstitium. Interstitial fibrosis or tubular atrophy (IF/TA) was the only significant predictive factor for RRF (P = .039). No significant association was found between renal volume parameters and IF/TA, whereas remnant renal volume adjusted by body weight (RRV/BW) tended to be relatively correlated with IF/TA (P = .072). Furthermore, LKDs with subclinical IF/TA tended to have decreased RRV/BW compared with those without subclinical IF/TA (P = .088)., Conclusions: Our findings suggested that the presence of IF/TA could be a predictive factor for RRF after DN. Further research establishing the predictive model for RRF is warranted to improve the outcomes of LKDs., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Living kidney donors (LKDs) are at high risk of renal dysfunction after undergoing a donor nephrectomy (DN), resulting in poor prognosis associated with the development of cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease. Decreasing this risk can improve the survival rate of LKDs. We investigated the effects of preoperative conditions in LKDs on renal dysfunction after DN using abdominal adipose tissue, inflammation, nutritional status, and muscle mass as markers for this assessment., Methods: Our retrospective study included 79 LKDs. Body composition markers were assessed using preoperative unenhanced computed tomographic images. Inflammation- and nutritional status-based markers were assessed using preoperative laboratory blood tests. The association between each marker was investigated, and prognostic markers for renal dysfunction after DN were identified., Results: The LKDs in this cohort comprised 30 men and 49 women. The median age at the time of DN and the preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate were 58 years and 81.9 mL/min/1.73 m 2 , respectively. Abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue and muscle mass significantly differed between the sexes. Each adipose tissue-, inflammation-, nutritional status-, and muscle mass-based marker showed an association with each other. Abdominal visceral adipose tissue and nutritional status could be independent prognostic markers for renal dysfunction after DN., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the preoperative condition of LKDs (assessed using specific markers such as abdominal visceral adipose tissue mass per volume and nutritional status) could affect renal dysfunction after DN. Optimal preoperative management can lead to better outcomes in LKDs. Further research is needed to establish appropriate exercise programs and nutritional interventions., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Despite advancements in the management of kidney transplantation (KT), kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) have a higher risk of mortality than the age-matched general population. Improvement of long-term graft and patient survival is a significant issue. Therefore we investigated the effects of postoperative nutritional status on graft and patient survival and explored the predictive factors involved in nutritional status., Methods: Our retrospective study included 118 KTRs who underwent KT at our hospital. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained from medical charts. The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) was used to assess nutritional status. Changes in nutritional status after KT were monitored and the effect of nutritional status on graft and patient survival was investigated. The variables involved in nutritional status were also explored., Results: The KTRs in this cohort comprised 66 men and 52 women with a median age of 47 years at KT. There were 16, 32, and 22 cases of cadaveric, preemptive, and ABO-incompatible KTs, respectively. Postoperative PNI gradually improved and was stable from 6 months after KT. Although graft survival was regulated by ABO-compatibility, independent predictors for patient survival were history of dialysis, PNI, and serum-corrected calcium levels. Preemptive KT and inflammatory status contributed to PNI., Conclusions: Nutritional status of KTRs improved over time after KT and could contribute to patient survival. Optimal nutritional educational programs and interventions can lead to better outcomes in KTRs. Further studies are needed to validate our results and develop appropriate nutritional educational programs, interventions, and exercise programs., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)