Donor Kidney Quality and Transplant Outcome: An Economic Evaluation of Contemporary Practice

Development of an Information Guideline for Kidney Transplant Recipients in a Clinical Trial: Protocol for a Modified Delphi Method

BACKGROUND

Renal transplantation is the treatment of choice for most cases of end-stage renal disease. Recipients need to lead a healthy lifestyle to minimize the potential side effects of immunosuppressive drugs and improve transplant outcomes. There is not much evidence about the best way to increase adherence to healthy lifestyles in kidney transplant recipients, so one of the objectives set by the nursing team is to train people to acquire the necessary skills and tools to be able to take care of themselves. In this sense, the consensual development of appropriate materials may be useful and of interest.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to develop an information guide for adults with kidney transplants to be assessed in a subsequent clinical trial as an intervention to increase adherence to healthy habits.

METHODS

We used a 3-step, methodological, sequential approach: (1) training from a group of experts and item consensus; (2) review of the medical literature available; and (3) use of the Delphi technique with on-site meetings. A total of 5 nurses from the Community of Madrid Kidney Transplantation Unit in Spain were asked to participate. The patients' lifestyle factors that, according to the medical literature available and experts' opinions, have the greatest impact on the survival of the transplanted organ and the recipients themselves were all described.

RESULTS

After using the modified Delphi method to reach a consensus on the items to be included and the information needed in each, an information guide for adult kidney transplant patients was developed. This guide facilitates the structuring of health care, information, and recommendations necessary for effective self-care for each person. The result is considered to be an easy-to-understand tool, useful for transplant doctors and nurses, in simple language, with information based on the latest scientific-medical evidence published to date, aspects of which will be evaluated in a clinical trial designed for this purpose.

CONCLUSIONS

Currently, this guide is the main intervention variable of a clinical trial (registered on ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT05715580) aimed at improving compliance with healthy habits in kidney transplant recipients in the Community of Madrid, Spain. The method used in its development has been useful and agile, and the result is a guide that can be easily updated periodically following the same procedure.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/46961.

Considerable Variability Among Transplant Nephrologists in Judging Deceased Donor Kidney Offers

Introduction

Transplant clinicians may disagree on whether or not to accept a deceased donor kidney offer. We investigated the interobserver variability between transplant nephrologists regarding organ acceptance and whether the use of a prediction model impacted their decisions.

Methods

We developed an observational online survey with 6 real-life cases of deceased donor kidneys offered to a waitlisted recipient. Per case, nephrologists were asked to estimate the risk of adverse outcome and whether they would accept the offer for this patient, or for a patient of their own choice, and how certain they felt. These questions were repeated after revealing the risk of adverse outcome, calculated by a validated prediction model.

Results

Sixty Dutch nephrologists completed the survey. The intraclass correlation coefficient of their estimated risk of adverse outcome was poor (0.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.08-0.62). Interobserver agreement of the decision on whether or not to accept the kidney offer was also poor (Fleiss kappa 0.13, 95% CI 0.129-0.130). The acceptance rate before and after providing the outcome of the prediction model was significantly influenced in 2 of 6 cases. Acceptance rates varied considerably among transplant centers.

Conclusion

In this study, the estimated risk of adverse outcome and subsequent decision to accept a suboptimal donor kidney varied greatly among transplant nephrologists. The use of a prediction model could influence this decision and may enhance nephrologists' certainty about their decision.

A paired-kidney allocation study found superior survival with HLA-DR compatible kidney transplants in the Eurotransplant Senior Program

The Eurotransplant Senior Program (ESP) has expedited the chance for elderly patients with kidney failure to receive a timely transplant. This current study evaluated survival parameters of kidneys donated after brain death with or without matching for HLA-DR antigens. This cohort study evaluated the period within ESP with paired allocation of 675 kidneys from donors 65 years and older to transplant candidates 65 years and older, the first kidney to 341 patients within the Eurotransplant Senior DR-compatible Program and 334 contralateral kidneys without (ESP) HLA-DR antigen matching. We used Kaplan-Meier estimates and competing risk analysis to assess all cause mortality and kidney graft failure, respectively. The log-rank test and Cox proportional hazards regression were used for comparisons. Within ESP, matching for HLA-DR antigens was associated with a significantly lower five-year risk of mortality (hazard ratio 0.71; 95% confidence interval 0.53-0.95) and significantly lower cause-specific hazards for kidney graft failure and return to dialysis at one year (0.55; 0.35-0.87) and five years (0.73; 0.53-0.99) post-transplant. Allocation based on HLA-DR matching resulted in longer cold ischemia (mean difference 1.00 hours; 95% confidence interval: 0.32-1.68) and kidney offers with a significantly shorter median dialysis vintage of 2.4 versus 4.1 yrs. in ESP without matching. Thus, our allocation based on HLA-DR matching improved five-year patient and kidney allograft survival. Hence, our paired allocation study suggests a superior outcome of HLA-DR matching in the context of old-for-old kidney transplantation.

Cost-effectiveness of Interventions to Increase Utilization of Kidneys From Deceased Donors With Primary Brain Malignancy in an Australian Setting

Kidneys from potential deceased donors with brain cancer are often foregone due to concerns of cancer transmission risk to recipients. There may be uncertainty around donors' medical history and their absolute transmission risk or risk-averse decision-making among clinicians. However, brain cancer transmissions are rare, and prolonging waiting time for recipients is harmful.

Methods

We assessed the cost-effectiveness of increasing utilization of potential deceased donors with brain cancer using a Markov model simulation of 1500 patients waitlisted for a kidney transplant, based on linked transplant registry data and with a payer perspective (Australian government). We estimated costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) for three interventions: decision support for clinicians in assessing donor risk, improved cancer classification accuracy with real-time data-linkage to hospital records and cancer registries, and increased risk tolerance to allow intermediate-risk donors (up to 6.4% potential transmission risk).

Results

Compared with current practice, decision support provided 0.3% more donors with an average transmission risk of 2%. Real-time data-linkage provided 0.6% more donors (1.1% average transmission risk) and increasing risk tolerance (accepting intermediate-risk 6.4%) provided 2.1% more donors (4.9% average transmission risk). Interventions were dominant (improved QALYs and saved costs) in 78%, 80%, and 87% of simulations, respectively. The largest benefit was from increasing risk tolerance (mean +18.6 QALYs and AU$2.2 million [US$1.6 million] cost-savings).

Conclusions

Despite the additional risk of cancer transmission, accepting intermediate-risk donors with brain cancer is likely to increase the number of donor kidneys available for transplant, improve patient outcomes, and reduce overall healthcare expenditure.

Cost-Effectiveness and Budget Impact Analysis of Implementing a 'Soft Opt-Out' System for Kidney Donation in Australia

INTRODUCTION

There is a severe shortage of donor organs globally. There is growing interest in understanding how a 'soft opt-out' organ donation system could help bridge the supply and demand gap for donor organs. This research aims to estimate the cost-effectiveness and budget impact of implementing a 'soft opt-out' organ donation system for kidney donation.

METHODS

A decision-analytic model was developed to estimate the incremental costs from a health system's perspective, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and death averted of people who have kidney failure, comparing a 'soft opt-out' organ donation system to an 'opt-in' system. This study analysed three scenarios where the 'soft opt-out' system generated a 20%, 30%, and 40% increase in deceased organ donation rates over 20 years. A 5-year time horizon was adopted for the budget impact analysis.

RESULTS

A 20% increase in organ donation rates could have a cost saving of 650 million Australian dollars (A$) and a 10,400-QALY gain. A 20% increase would avert more than 1500 deaths, while a 40% increase would avert 3200 deaths over a time horizon of 20 years. Over the first 5 years, a 20% increase would have a net saving of A$53 million, increasing to A$106 million if the donation rate increases by 40%.

CONCLUSION

A 'soft opt-out' organ donation system would return a cost saving for the healthcare system, a net gain in QALYs, and prevention of a significant number of deaths. Advantageous budgetary impact is important, but understanding the aversion for a 'soft opt-out' system in Australia is also important and remains a priority for further research.

A Software-Guided Approach to Hemodynamic Management in a Renal Transplant Recipient: A Case Report

The function of renal allografts in the perioperative period is partly dependent on minimizing hemodynamic instability. We have developed hemodynamic monitoring software-named the "pressure field"-that was utilized in a 68-year-old high-risk kidney transplant recipient. The "pressure field" was used to individualize fluid and drug administration and replicate the preoperative hemodynamics. The patient received net zero fluid intraoperatively and had an uneventful postoperative course. We found the pressure field method helpful to manage perioperative hemodynamics in this high-risk patient.

Deceased Donor Characteristics and Kidney Transplant Outcomes

Kidney transplantation is the therapy of choice for people living with kidney failure who are suitable for surgery. However, the disparity between supply versus demand for organs means many either die or are removed from the waiting-list before receiving a kidney allograft. Reducing unnecessary discard of deceased donor kidneys is important to maximize utilization of a scarce and valuable resource but requires nuanced decision-making. Accepting kidneys from deceased donors with heterogenous characteristics for waitlisted kidney transplant candidates, often in the context of time-pressured decision-making, requires an understanding of the association between donor characteristics and kidney transplant outcomes. Deceased donor clinical factors can impact patient and/or kidney allograft survival but risk-versus-benefit deliberation must be balanced against the morbidity and mortality associated with remaining on the waiting-list. In this article, the association between deceased kidney donor characteristics and post kidney transplant outcomes for the recipient are reviewed. While translating this evidence to individual kidney transplant candidates is a challenge, emerging strategies to improve this process will be discussed. Fundamentally, tools and guidelines to inform decision-making when considering deceased donor kidney offers will be valuable to both professionals and patients.

Non-Immunologic Causes of Late Death-Censored Kidney Graft Failure: A Personalized Approach

Despite continuous advances in surgical and immunosuppressive protocols, the long-term survival of transplanted kidneys is still far from being satisfactory. Antibody-mediated rejection, recurrent autoimmune diseases, and death with functioning graft are the most frequent causes of late-kidney allograft failure. However, in addition to these complications, a number of other non-immunologic events may impair the function of transplanted kidneys and directly or indirectly lead to their failure. In this narrative review, we will list and discuss the most important nonimmune causes of late death-censored kidney graft failure, including quality of the donated kidney, adherence to prescriptions, drug toxicities, arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia, new onset diabetes mellitus, hyperuricemia, and lifestyle of the renal transplant recipient. For each of these risk factors, we will report the etiopathogenesis and the potential consequences on graft function, keeping in mind that in many cases, two or more risk factors may negatively interact together.

Time-to-event analysis in economic evaluations: a comparison of modelling methods to assess the cost-effectiveness of transplanting a marginal quality kidney

BACKGROUND

Economic-evaluations using decision analytic models such as Markov-models (MM), and discrete-event-simulations (DES) are high value adds in allocating resources. The choice of modelling method is critical because an inappropriate model yields results that could lead to flawed decision making. The aim of this study was to compare cost-effectiveness when MM and DES were used to model results of transplanting a lower-quality kidney versus remaining waitlisted for a kidney.

METHODS

Cost-effectiveness was assessed using MM and DES. We used parametric survival models to estimate the time-dependent transition probabilities of MM and distribution of time-to-event in DES. MMs were simulated in 12 and 6 monthly cycles, out to five and 20-year time horizon.

RESULTS

DES model output had a close fit to the actual data. Irrespective of the modelling method, the cycle length of MM or the time horizon, transplanting a low-quality kidney as compared to remaining waitlisted was the dominant strategy. However, there were discrepancies in costs, effectiveness and net monetary benefit (NMB) among different modelling methods. The incremental NMB of the MM in the 6-months cycle lengths was a closer fit to the incremental NMB of the DES. The gap in the fit of the two cycle lengths to DES output reduced as the time horizon increased.

CONCLUSION

Different modelling methods were unlikely to influence the decision to accept a lower quality kidney transplant or remain waitlisted on dialysis. Both models produced similar results when time-dependant transition probabilities are used, most notable with shorter cycle lengths and longer time-horizons.