National transplantation pregnancy registry: Report on outcomes in cyclosporine-treated female kidney transplant recipients with an interval from transplant to pregnancy of greater than five years

Successful renal transplantation enables previously infertile females to conceive and carry a pregnancy, Much of the reported data on posttransplantation pregnancy accrued before the advent of cyclosporine, when steroids and azathioprine were the mainstays of maintenance immunosuppression, One factor affecting pregnancy outcome in kidney recipients is the length of time from transplantation to conception or transplant interval, It has been recommended that patients wait at least 2 years posttransplantation to conceive, as transplant intervals of shorter duration have had less favorable outcomes, Some have suggested that extended transplant intervals (> 5 years) paradoxically result in adverse outcomes. We have extracted data on cyclosporine-treated recipients with transplant intervals longer than 5 years from the National Transplantation Pregnancy Registry, and report 17 pregnancies from 15 recipients (transplant interval, 5.9 +/- 0.9 years), There were 13 live births (76.5%) and four spontaneous abortions (23.5%). The mean gestational age was 37.7 +/- 2.04 weeks and mean birth weight was 2,753 +/- 679 g, Prematurity occurred in 30.8%, low birth weight in 15.4%, very low birth weight in 7.7%, and neonatal complications in 15.4%, There were no maternal or neonatal deaths, The mean serum creatinine before pregnancy was 1.31 mg/dL, and there was no significant change during or after pregnancy, There were no rejections during or up to 3 months postpartum, Graft survival at 2 years was 100%, We conclude that most pregnancy outcomes in cyclosporine-treated recipients with transplant intervals greater than 5 years are favorable for the newborn, recipient, and graft. (C) 1996 by the National Kidney Foundation, Inc.