The Prevalence of Systemic Venous Congestion Post Kidney Transplant Detected by Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)

Systemic venous congestion is a known cause of acute kidney injury (AKI), but its presence in kidney transplant patients has not been previously described in the literature. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of systemic venous congestion in recent kidney transplant recipie...

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Main Authors: Santiago Beltramino, Agustín Manchado Bruno, Damián Fernández, Javier Walther, Gustavo Werber
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: CINQUILL Medical Publishers Inc. 2025-04-01
Series:POCUS Journal
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Online Access:https://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/pocus/article/view/18260
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author Santiago Beltramino
Agustín Manchado Bruno
Damián Fernández
Javier Walther
Gustavo Werber
author_facet Santiago Beltramino
Agustín Manchado Bruno
Damián Fernández
Javier Walther
Gustavo Werber
author_sort Santiago Beltramino
collection DOAJ
description Systemic venous congestion is a known cause of acute kidney injury (AKI), but its presence in kidney transplant patients has not been previously described in the literature. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of systemic venous congestion in recent kidney transplant recipients. We conducted a prospective, longitudinal, descriptive study including 30 adult patients during the first week post-renal transplant at the Instituto de Trasplante y Alta Complejidad in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Venous congestion was detected in 53% of patients (16/30), but only 13.3% (4/30) presented moderate to severe congestion. Pulmonary congestion was more frequent: 70% (21/30) of the patients presented some degree of pulmonary congestion, and 30% (9/30) had moderate or severe congestion. In the venous congestion group, 75% of patients developed delayed graft function (DGF) compared to 57% in the non-congestion group, although this difference was not statistically significant (p<0.3). Body weight and physical examination—two commonly used methods to guide decisions on dialysis initiation and fluid management—were found to be unreliable for assessing the true volume status. In conclusion, venous congestion was observed during the first week following renal transplantation; however, moderate to severe congestion was uncommon, affecting only 13.3% of patients. While DGF was more frequently observed in patients with congestion, a statistically significant association could not be established. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to better evaluate this potential relationship.
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spelling doaj-art-07be4c5cfcf94461b698cf0152c14d8b2025-08-20T02:11:57ZengCINQUILL Medical Publishers Inc.POCUS Journal2369-85432025-04-01100110.24908/pocusj.v10i01.18260The Prevalence of Systemic Venous Congestion Post Kidney Transplant Detected by Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)Santiago Beltramino0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2745-4726Agustín Manchado Bruno1https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3525-079XDamián Fernández2https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0890-2103Javier Walther3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7921-827XGustavo Werber4Intensive CareIntensive Care Unit, Instituto de Trasplante y Alta Complejidad. Buenos Aires, ARGIntensive Care Unit, Instituto de Trasplante y Alta Complejidad. Buenos Aires, ARGKidney Transplant Unit, Instituto de Trasplante y Alta Complejidad. Buenos Aires, ARGIntensive Care Unit, Instituto de Trasplante y Alta Complejidad. Buenos Aires, ARG Systemic venous congestion is a known cause of acute kidney injury (AKI), but its presence in kidney transplant patients has not been previously described in the literature. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of systemic venous congestion in recent kidney transplant recipients. We conducted a prospective, longitudinal, descriptive study including 30 adult patients during the first week post-renal transplant at the Instituto de Trasplante y Alta Complejidad in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Venous congestion was detected in 53% of patients (16/30), but only 13.3% (4/30) presented moderate to severe congestion. Pulmonary congestion was more frequent: 70% (21/30) of the patients presented some degree of pulmonary congestion, and 30% (9/30) had moderate or severe congestion. In the venous congestion group, 75% of patients developed delayed graft function (DGF) compared to 57% in the non-congestion group, although this difference was not statistically significant (p<0.3). Body weight and physical examination—two commonly used methods to guide decisions on dialysis initiation and fluid management—were found to be unreliable for assessing the true volume status. In conclusion, venous congestion was observed during the first week following renal transplantation; however, moderate to severe congestion was uncommon, affecting only 13.3% of patients. While DGF was more frequently observed in patients with congestion, a statistically significant association could not be established. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to better evaluate this potential relationship. https://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/pocus/article/view/18260venous congestion, delayed graft function, kidney transplant, POCUS.
spellingShingle Santiago Beltramino
Agustín Manchado Bruno
Damián Fernández
Javier Walther
Gustavo Werber
The Prevalence of Systemic Venous Congestion Post Kidney Transplant Detected by Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)
POCUS Journal
venous congestion, delayed graft function, kidney transplant, POCUS.
title The Prevalence of Systemic Venous Congestion Post Kidney Transplant Detected by Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)
title_full The Prevalence of Systemic Venous Congestion Post Kidney Transplant Detected by Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)
title_fullStr The Prevalence of Systemic Venous Congestion Post Kidney Transplant Detected by Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)
title_full_unstemmed The Prevalence of Systemic Venous Congestion Post Kidney Transplant Detected by Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)
title_short The Prevalence of Systemic Venous Congestion Post Kidney Transplant Detected by Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)
title_sort prevalence of systemic venous congestion post kidney transplant detected by point of care ultrasound pocus
topic venous congestion, delayed graft function, kidney transplant, POCUS.
url https://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/pocus/article/view/18260
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