1025 SLEEP APNEA AND KIDNEY TRANSPLANT GRAFT SURVIVAL: FINDINGS FROM AN 18-YEAR (1997–2015) HISTORICAL COHORT STUDY

Abstract

Introduction: Sleep apnea has been linked to the acceleration of renal failure in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, few studies have examined the association of sleep apnea to kidney functioning in ESRD patients post-transplant. Methods: A historic cohort study of kidney transplant recipients with a failed graft from a single-center examined the association between sleep apnea and kidney transplant graft survival time. Adult patients who were transplanted and failed or died with a functioning graft during the designated study time period (January 1, 1997-September 1, 2015) were included (n=299). Sleep apnea was defined as a diagnosis in a patient's medical record documented prior to graft failure. Graft survival time was defined as graft failure and/or cardiovascular death with a functioning graft, two common outcomes of kidney transplantation associated with ESRD. Non-cardiovascular related deaths with a functioning graft were censored. A Cox regression, stratified by year of transplant surgery, modeled the association of diagnosed sleep apnea with graft survival time. Using backward elimination, models were adjusted for age, gender, functional status, and antigen mismatch. Results: Sleep apnea prevalence in this cohort was 17%. Due to a significant (p