Retrospective Study of Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Intervention of the Transplant Renal Artery Stenosis (TRAS)

January 9, 2020 updated by: Adriano Henrique Pereira Barbosa

Retrospective Study of Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Intervention of the Transplant Renal Artery Stenosis (TRAS Study)

Renal transplantation is the standard treatment for patients with end-stage chronic kidney disease because it is effective in reducing the morbidity and mortality. Despite of the satisfactory results, some patients evolve with graft dysfunction and refractory hypertension due to transplanted renal artery stenosis (TRAS). TRAS is the main vascular complication of patients undergoing kidney transplantation, with a reported incidence ranging 1 to 23% in the different series in the literature, depending on the definition and diagnostic techniques used, manifesting most commonly between the 3rd month and the 2nd year after transplantation.

Percutaneous intervention of TRAS is widely accepted as a viable treatment option, but there are few long-term data on patients undergoing angioplasty. The aim of this study was to evaluate long term outcomes clinical in patients with TRAS underwent to percutaneous intervention with or without stent.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Detailed Description

Renal transplantation is the standard treatment for patients with end-stage chronic kidney disease, as it is effective in reducing the morbidity and mortality of patients in this condition. Despite satisfactory results, some patients have graft dysfunction and difficult-to-control hypertension, with the main cause of transplanted renal artery stenosis (TRAS).

The incidence of TRAS varies from 1 to 23% in the various series in the literature, depending on the definition and diagnostic techniques used, most commonly occurring between the 3rd month and the 2nd year after transplantation. However, it may present at any time with refractory hypertension and / or graft dysfunction in the absence of rejection, ureteral obstruction or infection.

About 50% of TRAS cases occur at the anastomosis site and there seems to be no relationship with the type of anastomosis, whether end-to-end or end-to-side. TRAS is generally a consequence of clamp perfusion injury, incorrect suture technique, or fibrotic inflammatory reaction to suture material. Other factors attributed to TRAS are secondary to graft rejection, cytomegalovirus infection, and cadaveric donor graft. The last two factors are controversial in the literature. Late TRAS is related to progressive atherosclerosis.

The diagnosis of TRAS is made by clinical manifestations and / or by complementary exams. In addition to refractory hypertension, patients with TRAS may have increased serum creatinine, sudden graft deterioration and acute pulmonary edema. Color Doppler ultrasonography is the most commonly used method due to its easy access, low cost and does not require the use of contrast or radiolabels. However, its biggest limitation is the heavy reliance on operator expertise. It has a sensitivity of 87 to 94% and a specificity of 86 to 100%. TRAS is suspected when Doppler ultrasound has a peak systolic velocity (PSV) above 180 cm / s and a resistance index <0.50.

Computed tomography provides three-dimensional images that may be superior to those of selective angiography, with the advantage of not requiring arterial puncture and requiring less contrast. Nuclear magnetic resonance is even superior to tomography, with a sensitivity of 67 to 100% and specificity of 75 to 100%. However, its availability is still limited, besides presenting high costs.

Renal arteriography is the gold standard for the diagnosis of TRAS. However, there is a need for high contrast volumes, which can precipitate acute renal failure, particularly in patients who already have renal dysfunction. Three-dimensional rotational angiography (3D-RA) appears as an auxiliary tool that can minimize the deleterious effects of contrast. The measurements obtained by 3D-RA showed a strong correlation with the measurements made by conventional angiography, demonstrating equivalent accuracy, without the need for additional projections, helping to perform the intervention.

Complications arising from transplanted kidney arteriography are puncture site hematomas, pseudoaneurysms, thromboembolism, arteriovenous fistulas, iliac artery dissection, graft artery dissection, occurring in less than 10% of cases. Due to the substantial risks and high costs, arteriography cannot be considered a screening method and is only indicated when a stenosis is suspected based on noninvasive exams.

Percutaneous intervention has been the method of choice for the treatment of TRAS with satisfactory results and few short-term complications, and its efficacy has been demonstrated, especially when using stents, in the various case series published in the literature. However, there is little data on long-term intervention, showing reduced mortality and graft preservation.

Evaluated data from the 2000-2005 United States Renal Data System (USRDS) and found no differences in mortality or renal loss in patients undergoing TRAS angioplasty (145 patients) compared to those who only underwent clinical treatment (678 patients) .

In a recently published systematic review, the authors demonstrated that percutaneous intervention with or without stenting was effective in the treatment of TRAS, with favorable results in terms of technical success (over 90%), clinical success, long graft patency, with few serious complications described. However, the authors report the absence of well-designed robust randomized studies, most of which are retrospective series of a single center with a low casuistic. The positive findings of this review contrast with the results found in the treatment of native renal artery stenosis, where stent revascularization showed no benefit in patients with atherosclerotic renovascular disease when compared to drug treatment. In this same article, the authors describe the inconsistency and lack of standardization in the methodology for defining the outcomes of the intervention on TRAS.

The Hospital do Rim e Hipertensão, an agency linked to the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) in Brazil, is the world leader in renal transplantation, performing an average of 1000 transplants / year in recent years. From 2006 to January 2015, patients with suspected TRAS were referred for angiography in the Hemodynamics of Hospital São Paulo.

The aims of this study was to retrospectively evaluate all patients referred to service with suspected TRAS who underwent angiography and intervention.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

313

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • SP
      • São Paulo, SP, Brazil, 04026001
        • Adriano H. P. Barbosa
      • São Paulo, SP, Brazil, 04026001
        • Solange Regina Generozo

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

All patients with suspected transplanted renal artery stenosis and referred to the hemodynamics laboratory for angiography of the transplanted renal artery.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • patients with clinical suspicion of transplanted renal artery stenosis.
  • patients undergoing angiography of the transplanted renal artery.
  • patients undergoing transplanted renal artery stenosis intervention with and without stent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • refuses to participate in the study.
  • patients without clinical follow-up.
  • patients who did not renal transplanted at the hospital do Rim.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Cohort
  • Time Perspectives: Retrospective

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
overall mortality rate
Time Frame: 08 years
overall mortality rate at the end of follow-up
08 years
graft failure rate
Time Frame: 08 years
graft failure rate at the end of follow-up
08 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
systolic and diastolic pressure measurement in mmHg
Time Frame: 01 month and 01 year
systolic and diastolic pressure measurement in mmHg at 01 month and 01 year
01 month and 01 year
glomerular filtration rate in mL/min/1,73 m2
Time Frame: 01 month and 01 year
glomerular rate at 01 month and 01 year in mL/min/1,73 m2
01 month and 01 year

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Adriano HP Barbosa, MDPhD, Unifesp/Epm

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 2, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2019

Study Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 7, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 9, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

January 13, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 13, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 9, 2020

Last Verified

January 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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