Kidney Transplant Waitlist: Weak Patients Have Lesser Chances of Being Listed

Frailty or weakness can lower a patient's chances of receiving a kidney transplant and of even being placed in the kidney transplant waitlist. The findings of this study are going to be discussed at ASN Kidney Week 2018 October 23-October 28 at the San Diego Convention Center.

To investigate whether frailty in patients with kidney failure may affect their likelihood of receiving a kidney transplant, Christine Haugen, MD (Johns Hopkins Hospital) and her colleagues studied 7078 potential kidney transplant candidates from 2009 to 2017. Patients were considered frail if they had 3 or more of the following components: unintentional weight loss decreased grip strength, slowed walking speed, and low activity.

‘Weakness in the patients has been associated with 38 percent lower chances of being placed on the kidney transplant waitlist and thereby of receiving a kidney transplant.’

Frail participants were 38% less likely to be listed for transplantation, had a nearly twofold increased risk of dying while on the transplant waitlist mortality, and underwent transplantation at a 35% lower rate than nonfrail participants.

"Prehabilitation may be a useful tool to increase physiologic reserve and subsequently improve access to kidney transplantation among frail patients," said Dr. Haugen.

Source: Eurekalert