Abstract:
Objective To investigate the cardiac structure and function within one year after kidney transplantation in children.
Methods A total of 50 children with normal renal function within one year after allogeneic kidney transplantation hospitalized in the Department of Pediatric Cardiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from February 2021 to December 2024 were retrospectively enrolled as the kidney transplantation group. Another 50 healthy children matched for age and gender were recruited as the control group. Echocardiography was performed in all subjects. General clinical characteristics and echocardiographic parameters were compared between the two groups, and left ventricular structure was analyzed in children of the kidney transplantation group.
Results The duration after kidney transplantation was 3 (2, 6) months. Forty-six patients received pre-transplant dialysis with a dialysis duration of 9 (5, 13) months. Echocardiographic findings revealed statistically significant intergroup differences in cardiac structure, systolic function and diastolic function (all P<0.05), while left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) remained within normal limits in both groups. In the kidney transplantation group, left ventricular hypertrophy was detected in 42% of patients, and concentric left ventricular remodeling was observed in 52% of patients.
Conclusions Most children still present abnormalities in cardiac structure as well as systolic and diastolic dysfunction after kidney transplantation. Compared with conventional echocardiographic indices, two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography is more sensitive for evaluating cardiac function in pediatric kidney transplant recipients. Regular echocardiographic surveillance for children with kidney transplantation facilitates early identification of alterations in cardiac structure and function, enabling timely intervention and improvement of quality of life.
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