Functional glomerular reserve in recipients of en bloc pediatric transplant kidneys

Background. The transplantation of an adequate renal mass is increasingly recognized to be of importance, The improved graft survival is probably due to a lesser risk of developing hyperfiltration-associated lesions. Methods. We have reviewed the glomerular reserve in our recipients of en bloc pediatric transplant kidneys after an intravenous amino acid overload and compared them to single adult kidney transplant recipients, Results, En bloc transplants evidenced increased glomerular filtration rate as compared with baseline as from the second hour of amino acid infusion (from 71+/-14 to 84.9+/-17 ml/min, 1.73 m(2), P<0.05) and increased renal plasma flow as from the third hour (from 335+/-116 to 402+/-155 ml/min, 1.73 m(2), P<0.05). In the single adult kidney recipient group, no change was seen either in the glomerular filtration rate (from 62.5+/-13 to 58.1+/-13 ml/min, 1.73 m(2), P=NS) nor in renal plasma flow (from 354+/-125 to 304+/-98 mi/min, 1.73 m(2), P=NS), Conclusions, These results show that patients receiving en bloc pediatric kidney transplantations have a greater renal functional reserve and show a lesser risk of hyperfiltration.