Central nervous system complications in renal transplant recipients：Report of 68 cases

Objective: To observe the central nervous system (CNS) complications among 1083 consecutive renal transplant (RT) recipients. Methods: Systemic analyses of the incidence, time of onset and clinical outcome of CNS complications were conducted in 1083 patients receiving cadaveric RT in Nanfang Hospital during Jan 1992 to Dec 1999. Results: Various CNS complications occurred in a total of 68 RT recipients (6. 28%, 68/1083) with a mortality of (1. 29%, 14/1083). Of all the 1 083 recipients enrolled in this study, diffuse encephalopathy occurred in 31 cases (2. 86%), cerebrovascular accidents in 17 (1. 56%), seizure in 11 (1. 02%) and CNS infection in 9 (0. 83%). Immusuppressive agents was the major cause for diffuse encephalopathy (93. 5% , 29/31), and cerebrovascular accidents were associated with a mortality rate of 70. 5% (12/17) and CNS infection with a mortality rate of 22. 22% (2/9). Most of the complications took place within the first month after RT, especially the first 2 weeks, but the majority of

Central nervous system complications in renal transplant recipients:Report of 68 cases

Objective: To observe the central nervous system (CNS) complications among 1083 consecutive renal transplant (RT) recipients. Methods: Systemic analyses of the incidence, time of onset and clinical outcome of CNS complications were conducted in 1083 patients receiving cadaveric RT in Nanfang Hospital during Jan 1992 to Dec 1999. Results: Various CNS complications occurred in a total of 68 RT recipients (6. 28%, 68/1083) with a mortality of (1. 29%, 14/1083). Of all the 1 083 recipients enrolled in this study, diffuse encephalopathy occurred in 31 cases (2. 86%), cerebrovascular accidents in 17 (1. 56%), seizure in 11 (1. 02%) and CNS infection in 9 (0. 83%). Immusuppressive agents was the major cause for diffuse encephalopathy (93. 5% , 29/31), and cerebrovascular accidents were associated with a mortality rate of 70. 5% (12/17) and CNS infection with a mortality rate of 22. 22% (2/9). Most of the complications took place within the first month after RT, especially the first 2 weeks, but the majority of CNS infection occurred 1 year after RT. Conclusion: About 6% of renal transplant recipients develop CNS complications that result in a mortality of 1. 29%, which require early diagnosis and vigorous treatment. Diffuse encephalopathy and cerebrovascular accidents are the two most common CNS complications, and immunosuppressive agents play a important role in the occurrence of encephalopathy. Most of the CNS complications occurred early after RT, but CNS infections may occur rather late, and cerebrovascular accidents and CNS infection are the two major causes of death.