Problems in postoperative renal transplant recipients who present to the emergency unit: experience at one center.

When a renal recipient in Turkey develops a postoperative problem, consultation by the transplant team in the emergency unit is often the first step toward a solution. The main aim of this study was to identify the types of postoperative problems that cause renal transplantation patients to visit the emergency room. Gathering this information was believed to be an important step toward developing new management strategies for these problems, in line with the quality management systems used throughout our hospital network. We collated the physical signs in the 78 patients when they presented to the emergency room. The most common one was fever (26.9%) followed by nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, dyspnea, skin lesions, headache, musculoskeletal trauma, hematuria/dysuria, epistaxis, psychological disorders, angina pectoris, hypertension, epilepsy, and rectal bleeding. Among the 78 patients, 45 (57.7%) were hospitalized and 33 (42.3%) were discharged with medical advice or drug treatment. Among the 45 hospitalized patients, 97.8% were initiated on medical treatment. Knowing the surgical and medical emergency issues prevalent in recipients enables the development of new procedures and algorithms, leading to more effective management and follow-up of renal transplant recipients.