Kids With Kidney Disease Face Higher Risk of Transplant Rejection Because Of This…

Children awaiting a kidney transplant face the risk of organ rejection due to underlying inflammation according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Transplantation.

The retrospective cohort study involved 120 children who’d received kidney transplants, 103 of whom had undergone surveillance biopsies within half a year of undergoing transplantation. Researchers discovered that close to 40% of the test subjects exhibited subclinical inflammation, which was associated with a higher rate of acute kidney transplant rejection. 

Authors of the study subsequently reported that this subclinical inflammation was unfortunately widely prevalent in the test group of children with kidney transplants and that this left them facing uncertain outcomes. ‘Subclinical inflammation’ is defined as any kind of inflammation which is not readily observable but which can sometimes be detected by tests like MRIs and ultrasounds. It’s typically present in cases of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and can also be a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. 

The study authors concluded that upon a proper validation of the data collected, measures could be supported to implement surveillance biopsies as a standard of care for children receiving kidney transplants to better gauge their likelihood of success. 

Children with kidney disease often face a variety of concurrent health issues which can leave them and their caretakers feeling completely overwhelmed.

Here are some of the main issues along with links to articles we’ve written about them:

Be sure to check these articles out for more information about how to best help your children and their kidneys!