Saudi journal of kidney diseases and transplantation : an official publication of the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation, Saudi Arabia
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Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl · Nov 2007
The course and outcome of renal transplant recipients admitted to the intensive care unit at a tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia.
Renal transplantation is the treatment of choice for most patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This procedure provides a survival benefit compared to hemodialysis and is also cost effective. The aim of this study is to identify the types and incidence rates of complications that affect renal transplant recipients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) during long-term follow-up and, to examine the impact of these complications on the length of hospital stay as well as mortality, in a tertiary closed ICU in Saudi Arabia. ⋯ We found only the need for hemodialysis during the ICU as an independent risk factor for mortality (P < 0.02). We found in this study that the main reason for ICU admissions among renal transplant recipients was infections. Mortality rates for this particular population are relatively high and are primarily linked to need for dialysis.