Abstract

Background. Hyperuricemia is a common complication after kidney transplantation, and may adversely affect graft survival. Objective. To assess the prevalence of and predictors for development of hyperuricemia after renal transplantation. Materials and Methods. Hyperuricemia was defined as a serum uric acid concentration of at least 7.0 mg/dL in men and 6.0 mg/dL in women. From March 2008 to May 2010, uric acid concentration was measured in 12,767 blood samples from 2961 adult renal transplant recipients (64 male and 36 female patients). Results. Hyperuricemia was observed in 1553 patients (52.4). The disorder frequently occurred in women (P = .003) and in patients with impaired renal graft function (P = .00). After adjustment for sex, serum creatinine concentration, diabetes mellitus, cyclosporine concentration, and dyslipidemia, only female sex (P = .03) and renal allograft dysfunction (P = .05) were associated with hyperuricemia after kidney transplantation. Conclusion. Hyperuricemia is a common complication after kidney transplantation, and renal allograft insufficiency predisposes to higher uric acid concentration.