Superior Hypertension Management in Pediatric Kidney Transplant Patients After Native Nephrectomy

Background Native nephrectomy in pediatric kidney transplant recipients is performed for multiple indications. Posttransplant hypertension requiring medical management is common, and the effect of native nephrectomy on posttransplant hypertension is poorly studied. Our aim is to evaluate the impact of native nephrectomy on posttransplant hypertension. Methods One hundred thirty-six consecutive pediatric kidney transplant recipients from 2007 to 2012 were studied at a single institution and divided into 2 groups: no nephrectomy and native nephrectomy (unilateral and bilateral nephrectomy). Antihypertensive medication use was evaluated before nephrectomy/transplant, at discharge from transplant and at 1, 3, and 5 years posttransplant. Results In a bivariate analysis, nephrectomy was associated with a significant reduction in the percentage of patients requiring antihypertensive medication at the time of discharge (27.3%) and 1 year posttransplant (10.7%) as compared with patients without nephrectomy (71.7%, and 50%, respectively, P < 0.05). This trend toward reduction in antihypertensive medication in the nephrectomy group as compared with the no nephrectomy group persisted at 3 (18.6% versus 43.2%) and 5 years (19.7% versus 37.5%) posttransplant. Multivariable logistic regression demonstrated that patients without native nephrectomy had higher odds of requiring antihypertensive medication at the time of discharge (3.3) and 1 year (5.2) as compared with patients who underwent native nephrectomy (P = 0.036 and P = 0.013, respectively). Conclusions Native nephrectomy reduces the odds of needing antihypertensive medication after transplant. The impact of native nephrectomy is crucial to the comprehensive management of pediatric transplant recipients where medication compliance is challenging and lifelong hypertension is known to negatively impact cardiovascular health.