Objective: To elucidate the trends in urologic causes for renal transplant in the pediatric population using a national database. Little is known about the specific pediatric urologic conditions and resultant trends that precede renal transplantation.
Material and methods: We reviewed the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database for pediatric patients (<18 years old) who underwent renal transplantation from January 1988 to September 2015. We included those patients who received a renal transplant because of a urologic condition.
Results: Over 27 years, 7291 of 20,213 children (36%) underwent renal transplant secondary to a urologic condition. The 2 most common indications were hypoplasia/dysplasia/dysgenesis/agenesis (HDDA, 35.1%) and congenital obstructive uropathy (COU, 25.7%). The incidence of COU has increased from 18% to 30%, and the incidence of Wilms tumor has remained relatively consistent at 1.8% per year. In addition, 68% of all urologic renal transplants were performed in men compared with women. However, a higher percentage of women required transplantation because of Wilms tumor (3.1% vs 1.2%) and chronic pyelonephritis (17.6% vs 7.9%). Overall, the majority of patients (61.5%) who underwent renal transplantation were white, 18.8% Hispanic, and 15.3% black.
Conclusion: HDDA and COU consistently have been the most common urologic indications for renal transplantation. Both are the leading causes in men, whereas HDDA and chronic pyelonephritis are predominant in women. Higher rate of renal transplant during the ages of 11-17 years is suggestive of increased burden on poorly functioning kidneys during times of adolescent growth.
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