Continuous renal replacement therapy versus furosemide for management of kidney impairment in heart transplant recipients with volume overload.

OBJECTIVES

It is unknown whether continuous renal replacement therapy or furosemide therapy is superior in heart transplant recipients who are in postoperative kidney insufficiency and volume overload. This prospective non-randomized, controlled trial investigated the efficacy of the two methods after transplantation.

METHODS

We assigned heart transplant recipients 18 years of age or older who were oliguric (urine output < 400 ml/day); had volume overload and estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 ml/min/1.73 m(2) of body surface area calculated with the use of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation, to designed initiation of intervention. We followed 30 patients for up to 30 days. The primary outcome was estimated glomerular filtration rate status after intervention.

RESULTS

Between January 2010 and April 2012, a total of 30 adults (mean age: 37 years; 18 men and 12 women) were assessed for entry in this trial. Continuous renal replacement therapy, when compared with furosemide, was associated with a significant increase in estimated glomerular filtration rate of patients after intervention 61 ± 4.5 vs 55 ± 8.5l ml/min/1.73 m(2) (P = 0.02). Moreover, the mean glomerular filtration rate at discharge time for the continuous renal replacement therapy group was 72 ± 7.3 and 58 ± 7.4 ml/min/1.73 m(2) for the furosemide group (P < 0.001). During the follow-up period, 6 of 15 patients in the continuous renal replacement therapy group (40%) and 4 of 15 in the furosemide group (26.6%) died (P = 0.43).

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, continuous renal replacement therapy in heart transplant recipients with reduced kidney function was associated with an improvement in estimated glomerular filtration rate status in comparison with furosemide.