Pregnancy outcomes and impact of pregnancy on graft function in women after kidney transplantation. Issue 10 (7th September 2017) - Mohammadi, F.A.
Abstract: Background: Kidney transplantation facilitates pregnancy in women with end‐stage kidney disease; however, the impact of pregnancy on short and longer‐term graft function is uncertain. Methods: Obstetric, fetal, and graft outcomes for pregnancies from a large Australian transplant unit (1976‐2015) were reviewed. Results: There were 56 pregnancies in 35 women with mean age at conception 30.4 ± 0.6 years and mean transplant‐pregnancy interval 5.5 ± 0.5 years. The live birth rate was 78.9%. Preterm birth (<37 weeks) occurred in 56.5%. Hypertensive disorders affected 76% of women (pre‐eclampsia in 30%). Median prepregnancy serum creatinine (SCr) was 100 μmol/L (interquartile range (IQR), 80, 114 μmol/L). One‐third had deterioration in graft dysfunction during pregnancy; of these, 63.2% did not return to baseline. At 2 years post‐partum, median SCr was 96.4 μmol/L (IQR, 81.5‐124.3). Women with prepregnancy SCr > 110 μmol/L had increased risk of pre‐eclampsia (OR 4.4; 95% CI 1.2‐16.8; P = .03), but not preterm birth (OR 5.4; 95% CI 0.5‐53; P = .04) or low birth‐weight babies (OR 1.2; 95% CI 0.5‐2.9; P = .04). Women with SCr > 140 μmol/L preconception had worst SCr trajectory, including higher rates of graft loss. Conclusions: Kidney transplantation pregnancies remain at high risk of obstetric complications, particularly pre‐eclampsia. Prepregnancy graft function can be used to predict risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and deterioration in graft function during and after delivery.