Acute kidney injury in renal transplant recipients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a key risk factor for chronic kidney disease in the general population, but has not been investigated in detail among renal transplant recipients (RTRs). We investigated the incidence, severity and risk factors for AKI following cardiac surgery among RTRs compared with non-RTRs with otherwise similar clinical characteristics.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of RTRs (n = 83) and non-RTRs (n = 83) who underwent cardiac surgery at two major academic medical centers.