Abstract

Background. This study assessed the causes and related factors of rehospitalization following renal transplantation among elderly compared with younger patients. Methods. We reviewed the charts of 567 patients rehospitalized after kidney transplantation from 2000 to 2006. According to age at the time of transplantation, hospitalizations were divided into two groups: group 1 (age 50 years) and group 11 (age 20 to 50 years). Demographics, clinical findings, causes for rehospitalization, patient outcomes (recovery, graft loss, death), intensive care unit (ICU) admission, length of hospital stay, time interval from transplantation to rehospitalization, as well as hospital costs were compared between the two groups. Results. One hundred eighty-five (32.6) rehospitalizations were charted for group 1, who showed a higher proportion of admissions due to infection (42.2 vs 29.8, P = .004) and macrovascular disease (3.8 vs 1.0, P = .027) compared with group II. ICU admission (8.8 vs 2.4, P = .001), mortality (10.2 vs 3.6, P = .008), and hospital charges (1610 +/- 933 vs 931 +/- 850 purchase power parity dollars, P.001) were also seen more frequently in group I but displayed a lower frequency of admissions due to graft rejection (20 vs 34.3, P = .001). Conclusion. Recipient age at the time of transplantation was a main factor affecting rehospitalization among our patients.