Assessment of Short-term, Within Hospital Cardiovascular Complications After Renal Transplantation in Baqiyatallah Hospital

INTRODUCTION: Several studies have looked at cardiac complications in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) after renal transplantation, but more attention has been paid to the long-term cardiovascular complications. AIM: The present study was designed to investigate the short-term cardiovascular complications of intrahospital hospitalization in post-renal transplant patients and related factors. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, the medical records of all renal transplant patients in Baqiyatallah Hospital between 2015 and 2018 during the post-transplantation phase were investigated. Demographic data, transplantation type, cardiac risk factors, pre-operation cardiac consultation and para-clinical tests results were extracted from the patients’ records. The frequency and factors influencing the need for re-visitation as well as its final diagnosis were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 982 patients with a mean age of 13.73 ± 45.33 years were studied (62.6% males). In 39.8% of patients, cardiology re-visitation was required; of these 391 visits, only 162 patients (41.4%) had heart problems. In multivariate analysis, patients’ need for cardiac reconsideration was predicted by 7 variables; age, diabetes, history of CABG, ECG, echocardiography, angiography, and myocardial perfusion scan (R(2) = 0.652, P <0.001). Furthermore, the five variables of first cardiology consultant, the first consultation physician, left ventricular hypertrophy, having history of angiography and myocardial perfusion scan, can predict the final diagnosis of cardiac problems in re-counseling (R(2) = 0.188, P = 0.043). CONCLUSION: Given the high prevalence of need for a patient’s recurrent cardiac visit, it seems that risk assessment prior to kidney transplantation needs to be more accurate. It is recommended that elderly patients with abnormal findings in electrocardiography and echocardiography, having diabetes, having a history of negative coronary angiography or myocardial perfusion scan be more closely monitored for heart disease.