Table 1. Study participants’ demographic characteristics and clinical outcomes.
Group A: rATG dose 2/2.5 mg/kg; Group B: rATG dose ≥3 mg/kg; CGN: chronic glomerulonephritis; CTID: chronic tubulointerstitial disease; DN: diabetic nephropathy; ADPKD: autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease; IQR: interquartile range; rATG: rabbit antithymocyte globulin; DGF: delayed graft function; NODAT: new-onset diabetes after transplantation; UTI: urinary tract infection; LRTI: lower respiratory tract infection; TB: tuberculosis; CMV: cytomegalovirus; BKV: BK virus
| Parameters | Group A (n = 122) | Group B (n = 86) | P-value |
| Recipient | |||
| Age, years, mean ± SD | 41.31 ± 12.23 | 42.13 ± 12.08 | 0.634 |
| Gender, N (%), males | 98 (80.32) | 64 (74.42) | 0.312 |
| Weight, kg, mean ± SD | 64.13 ± 15.62 | 61.43 ± 12.63 | 0.188 |
| Basic kidney disease, N (%) | |||
| CGN | 3 (2.45) | 2 (2.33) | 0.933 |
| CTID | 9 (7.37) | 6 (6.98) | |
| DN | 30 (24.59) | 22 (25.58) | |
| Presumed CGN | 60 (49.18) | 37 (43.02) | |
| ADPKD | 1 (0.81) | 1 (1.16) | |
| Unclassified | 19 (15.57) | 18 (20.93) | |
| Re-transplantation, N (%) | 2 (1.63) | 1 (1.16) | 0.777 |
| Dialysis vintage, years, median (IQR) | 4 (2–8) | 4 (2.5–6) | 0.229 |
| Blood group, N (%) | |||
| A | 32 (26.22) | 16 (18.60) | 0.180 |
| AB | 11 (9.01) | 7 (8.14) | |
| B | 55 (45.08) | 35 (40.70) | |
| O | 24 (19.67) | 28 (32.56) | |
| Donor | |||
| Age, years, mean ± SD | 48.36 ± 10.97 | 45.17 ± 10.34 | 0.034 |
| Gender, N (%), females | 89 (72.95) | 62 (72.09) | 0.891 |
| Biological Relationship, N (%), unrelated | 76 (62.29) | 64 (74.42) | 0.066 |
| Deceased Donor, N (%) | 7 (5.73) | 2 (2.32) | 0.234 |
| Number of HLA mismatch, mean ± SD | 3.55 ± 1.06 | 4.13 ± 1.04 | 0.000 |
| Immunosuppressant | |||
| Mean rATG dose in mg/kg, mean ± SD | 2.18 ± 0.24 | 3.14 ± 0.35 | 0.000 |
| Cyclosporine use, N (%) | 12 (9.8) | 5 (5.8) | 0.297 |
| mTOR inhibitor use, N (%) | 9 (7.4) | 12 (14) | 0.121 |
| Tacrolimus level, mean ± SD | |||
| At discharge | 10.63 ± 2.69 | 10.58 ± 3.03 | 0.896 |
| At 6th month | 7.02 ± 1.43 | 7.04 ± 1.80 | 0.917 |
| At 1st year | 6.18 ± 1.36 | 6.19 ± 1.46 | 0.968 |
| At 3rd year | 5.47 ± 1.15 | 5.89 ± 1.24 | 0.019 |
| At 5th year | 5.47 ± 0.96 | 5.51 ± 0.91 | 0.792 |
| Clinical outcomes | |||
| Serum creatinine, mean ± SD | |||
| At discharge | 1.22 ± 0.69 | 1.20 ± 0.86 | 0.846 |
| At 6th month | 1.35 ± 0.67 | 1.26 ± 0.37 | 0.256 |
| At 1st year | 1.27 ± 0.36 | 1.23 ± 0.36 | 0.514 |
| At 3rd year | 1.38 ± 0.67 | 1.40 ± 1.00 | 0.869 |
| At 5th year | 1.52 ± 0.92 | 1.38 ± 0.65 | 0.255 |
| DGF, N (%) | 9 (7.37) | 4 (4.65) | 0.424 |
| NODAT, N (%) | 26 (21.31) | 22 (25.58) | 0.472 |
| Bacterial UTI, N (%) | 33 (27.04) | 24 (27.90) | 0.891 |
| Bacterial LRTI, N (%) | 12 (9.83) | 3 (3.48) | 0.081 |
| TB, N (%) | 6 (4.91) | 4 (4.65) | 0.929 |
| Other bacterial infections, N (%) | 7 (5.73) | 10 (11.62) | 0.127 |
| Fungal infections, N (%) | 3 (2.45) | 2 (2.32) | 0.951 |
| CMV disease, N (%) | 5 (4.09) | 5 (5.81) | 0.569 |
| Leucopenia N (%) | 46 (37.7) | 35 (40.6) | 0.240 |
| BKV nephropathy, N (%) | 1 (0.81) | 2 (2.32) | 0.370 |
| Malignancy, N (%) | 2 (1.63) | 0 | - |
| Acute rejection episodes, N (%) | 5 (4.09) | 3 (3.49) | 0.822 |
| Total graft loss, N (%) | 9 (7.37) | 6 (6.97) | 0.912 |
| Death, N (%) | 5 (4.09) | 4 (4.65) | 0.847 |
| Death-censored graft loss, N (%) | 4 (3.27) | 2 (2.32) | 0.686 |