Objectives: Kidney dysfunction is common in liver transplant candidates and is a well-established predictor of increased mortality after liver transplant. However, the best method for determination of the glomerular filtration rate before liver transplant remains unclear.
Materials and methods: We analyzed the performance of the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation and the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Study equation, before liver transplant, compared with radionuclide glomerular filtration rate and examined the association of the 2 equations with a composite outcome of stage 4 chronic kidney disease, initiation of chronic dialysis, or patient death.
Results: We studied 426 consecutive adult liver transplant recipients from 1990 to 2014. The correlation coefficient of the radionuclide glomerular filtration rate with the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation was 0.61 and with the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study equation was 0.58. The Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study equation showed a bias of -4.7 mL/min and precision of 32.9 mL/min, whereas the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation showed a bias of -11.1 mL/min but was more precise (28.1 mL/min). Only the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation remained significantly associated with the composite outcome in the multivariable analysis.
Conclusions: The use of the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation in the period before liver transplant provided independent prognostic information regarding long-term outcomes after liver transplant.