BACKGROUND: Long-term results indicate that diabetics who developed chronic renal failure do better after renal transplantation than during dialyzation treatment. Despite this in diabetics after renal transplantation cardiovascular or cerebrovascular death is relatively frequent. The objective of this retrospective analysis was evaluation of the effect of the period of renal failure before transplantation on the mortality of the recipients. METHODS AND RESULTS: From a group of 56 diabetics where in 1985-1992 on account of renal failure a transplantation was made 47 patients were selected where valid data on the period of pre-transplantation renal failure could be obtained. In 29 surviving recipients the mean period was 6.4 +/- 5.3 months, while in those who died it was 15.4 +/- 11.6 months (p < 0.001). In nine who died as a result of atherosclerotic complications the pre-transplantation period was 19.5 +/- 11.6 months, in those who died from infectious complications it was 11.3 +/- 10.6 months (the difference is not statistically significant, p > 0.05). Five of 9 patients died from atherosclerotic complications within 6 months after transplantation and as many as 7 from 9 from infectious complications. CONCLUSIONS: The results of a retrospective analysis support the view that renal transplantations in diabetic patients should be made as early as possible.

Klinika diabetologie a experimentální terapie Institutu klinické a experimentální medicíny Praha