Objective:To evaluate the safety of pregnancy after kidney transplantation and summarize the optimal timing of pregnancy and the experience in the management during pregnancy and peripartum.Methods:A total of 25 kidney transplant recipients were pregnant during March 2013 to February 2020. A matched cohort of 75 general pregnant women wasincluded as control.Results:Twenty-five women successfully delivered healthy babies in the transplant group. The mean age at kidney transplantationwas (25.6 ±3.2) years old, and the mean interval between transplantation and conception was (54.0±23.1) months. 92% (23 / 25) of recipients had cesarean surgery and all infants were singletons.During pregnancy, the incidence of preeclampsia was significantly higher in the transplant group(20.0%VS. 1.3%, P=0.001)compared with matched control. Compared with pre-pregnancy, the serum creatinine levels of the recipients decreased in the second trimester( P<0.001)and increased in the third trimester( P=0.019), which was similar with the control group. In the third trimester, 40%(10/25)of recipients in the transplant group had proteinuria, which decreased to negative(5/10) or 1+ (4/10) within 6 months after delivery. No rejection occurred in all patients during pregnancy and 6 months after delivery. A higher dose of tacrolimus was needed to maintain the normal trough level after pregnancy, which returned to routine dose postpartum. Conclusions:Although the risk of pregnancy was higher in kidney transplant recipients than that in non-transplant women, the overall risk was acceptable. Strict screening of patients preparing for pregnancy, adjustment of immunosuppressive drugs, and multi-disciplinary collaboration are important for safe pregnancy and delivery.

BACKGROUND: Although ABO-incompatible (ABOi) kidney transplantation (KT) has been performed successfully, a standard preconditioning regimen has not been established. Based on the initial antidonor ABO antibody titers, an individualized preconditioning regimen is developed, and this study explored the efficacy and safety of the regimen. METHODS: From September 1, 2014, to September 1, 2020, we performed 1668 consecutive living-donor KTs, including 100 ABOi and 1568 ABO-compatible (ABOc) KTs. ABOi KT recipients (KTRs) with a lower antibody titer (≤1:8) were administered oral immunosuppressive drugs (OIs) before KT, while patients with a medium titer (1:16) received OIs plus antibody-removal therapy (plasma exchange/double-filtration plasmapheresis), patients with a higher titer (≥1:32) were in addition received rituximab (Rit). Competing risk analyses were conducted to estimate the cumulative incidence of infection, acute rejection (AR), graft loss, and patient death. RESULTS: After propensity score analyses, 100 ABOi KTRs and 200 matched ABOc KTRs were selected. There were no significant differences in graft and patient survival between the ABOi and ABOc groups (P  = 0.787, P  = 0.386, respectively). After using the individualized preconditioning regimen, ABOi KTRs showed a similar cumulative incidence of AR (10.0% υs . 10.5%, P  = 0.346). Among the ABOi KTRs, the Rit-free group had a similar cumulative incidence of AR ( P  = 0.714) compared to that of the Rit-treated group. Multivariate competing risk analyses revealed that a Rit-free regimen reduced the risk of infection (HR: 0.31; 95% CI: 0.12-0.78, P  = 0.013). Notably, antibody titer rebound was more common in ABOi KTRs receiving a Rit-free preconditioning regimen ( P  = 0.013) than those receiving Rit. ABOi KTRs with antibody titer rebound had a 2.72-fold risk of AR (HR: 2.72, 95% CI: 1.01-7.31, P  = 0.048). ABOi KTRs had similar serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate compared to those of ABOc KTRs after the first year. CONCLUSIONS An individualized preconditioning regimen can achieve comparable graft and patient survival rates in ABOi KT with ABOc KT. Rit-free preconditioning effectively prevented AR without increasing the risk of infectious events in those with lower initial titers; however, antibody titer rebound should be monitored.
Humans ; Kidney Transplantation/adverse effects* ; Living Donors ; Kidney ; Immunosuppressive Agents/therapeutic use* ; Rituximab/therapeutic use* ; ABO Blood-Group System ; Graft Rejection ; Graft Survival