Anesthetic management of patients undergoing renal transplantation: A review of a two-year experience

Abstract

Objectives: This study reviewed the anesthetic management procedures used for renal transplantation patients at a university hospital in Turkey over a two-year period. Areas of interest included preoperative status, fluid management, perioperative complications, and postoperative analgesia. Methods: A retrospective review of hospital records and information collected from all patients undergoing renal transplantation, performed at Ondokuz Mayıs University Hospital from 2018 to 2020, was conducted. Results: A total of 90 renal transplants were performed during the study time period. Of the patients undergoing renal transplantation, 44.4% were female and 55.6% were male. 52 patients were recipients of cadaveric transplants and 38 patients received kidneys from living, related donors. The duration of surgery and cold ischemic time were longer in the recipients of the cadaveric transplants (p < 0.05). Delayed graft function was statistically significantly higher in the kidney transplants obtained from the cadaveric donors than the living donors (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study showed that anesthesia for renal transplantation is a safe and effective method if a selected range of drugs and techniques is used. Applying a well-planned standard anesthesia protocol and updating it periodically in line with the current literature will contribute to improving the quality of the outcomes renal transplantation surgery.