Author Interviews, Columbia, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Kidney Disease, Transplantation / 09.07.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Syed Ali Husain, MD, MPH Assistant Professor of Medicine Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and New York Presbyterian Hospital The Columbia University Renal Epidemiology Group New York, New York  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: One group of patients thought to be at a high risk of severe COVID-19 manifestations is kidney transplant recipients, since they take medications that suppress their immune system and they often have other medical problems that have been associated with severe infection. We wanted to understand whether it is safe to manage kidney transplant recipients who develop COVID-19 as outpatients, without admitting them to the hospital. (more…)
Author Interviews, Johns Hopkins, Kidney Disease, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Transplantation / 26.02.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tanjala S. Purnell, PhD MPH Assistant Professor, Transplant Surgery and Epidemiology Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Purnell:  Kidney transplantation (KT) is the best treatment for most patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD), offering longer life expectancy and improved quality of life than dialysis treatment. Despite these benefits, previous reports suggest that black KT recipients experience poorer outcomes, such as higher kidney rejection and patient death, than white KT recipients. Our team wanted to examine whether this disparity has improved in recent decades. We hypothesized that advances in immunosuppression and post- kidney transplantation  management might differentially benefit black KT recipients, who were disproportionately burdened by immunological barriers, and contribute to reduced racial disparities in kidney transplantation outcomes. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Purnell: 
  1. From 1990 to 2012, 5-year failure rates of the transplanted kidney after Deceased Donor Kidney Transplantation (DDKT) decreased from 51.4% to 30.6% for blacks and from 37.3% to 25.0% for whites; 5-year failure after Living Donor Kidney Transplantation (LDKT) decreased from 37.4% to 22.2% for blacks and from 20.8% to 13.9% for whites.
  2. Among DDKT recipients in the earliest group of patients, blacks were 39% more likely than whites to experience 5-year failure, but this disparity narrowed to 10% in the most recent group.
  3. Among LDKT recipients in the earliest group, blacks were 53% more likely than whites to experience 5-year failure, but this disparity narrowed to 37% in the most recent group.
  4. There were no statistically significant differences in 1-year or 3-year failure rates of transplanted kidneys after LDKT or DDKT in the most recent groups.
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