Influence of acute tubular necrosis on first cadaver kidney transplant function.

Prolonged cold storage following intracellular electrolyte flushing increases the probability of significant acute tubular necrosis after cadaver kidney transplantation. The renal function of primary cadaver kidney grafts was compared in 68 recipients who required dialysis and 92 who did not require dialysis during the first week after transplantation. All kidneys were retrieved from beating-heart cadaver donors by our center, flushed with ice-cold intracellular electrolyte solution and cold-stored until transplantation at our hospital. Recipients requiring dialysis during the first week after transplantation received kidneys with a significantly longer cold storage time (27.4 plus or minus 10.2 versus 23.2 plus or minus 7.6 hours) and had significantly higher 1-month serum creatinine nadirs (2.1 plus or minus 1.3 versus 1.5 plus or minus 0.6 mg./dl.). Actuarial kidney graft survivals and serum creatinine levels 1 to 5 years after grafting were not significantly different. Acute tubular necrosis following primary cadaver kidney transplantation does not adversely affect long-term function of kidney grafts flushed with intracellular electrolyte solution and cold-stored until transplantation.