The Study
Post-Renal Transplant Metabolic Acidosis: A Neglected Entity
This study looked at a group of kidney transplant patients at one point in time and found that many had acidosis. It noticed that people with higher levels of certain medicines or who ate more meat were more likely to have it — but it didn’t change anything to see if those things actually caused the problem. So it’s like noticing that people who wear red socks often win races — it doesn’t mean red socks make you win.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
Even when their new kidney is working fine, many transplant patients develop too much acid in their blood because of medicines, diet, or past immune attacks on the kidney.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 544 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — this means over 4 in 10 stable transplant patients have a hidden metabolic problem that could harm their kidney long-term, even if their kidney function looks normal.
- 241.5% of patients had acidosis; 52.5% had type I RTA; tacrolimus levels above 5.9 ng/mL predicted acidosis 70% of the time; eating meat >3 days/week and taking cotrimoxazole were linked to acidosis.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Indian Journal of Nephrology
Year
2019
Authors
ME Fernando, J. Jayanivash, N. Srinivasaprasad, S. Suren, K. Thirumalvalavan
Related Content
Claims (7)
People with metabolic dysfunction have a slightly more acidic blood pH than people without metabolic dysfunction, even though both groups remain within the normal range.
In kidney transplant patients with stable kidney function, more than 4 in 10 have metabolic acidosis, and more than half of those cases are due to type I distal renal tubular acidosis.
In people who have received a kidney transplant and have metabolic acidosis, lower levels of albumin in the blood are consistently associated with lower levels of bicarbonate in the blood.
Long-term use of cotrimoxazole in people who have received a kidney transplant is linked to metabolic acidosis caused by reduced excretion of hydrogen and potassium ions in the kidney tubules, leading to type IV renal tubular acidosis.
People who eat animal protein more than three days a week after a kidney transplant are more likely to develop metabolic acidosis because their bodies produce more acid from amino acids in the meat, and their kidneys cannot remove it effectively.
Renal transplant recipients who have had prior acute rejection episodes show persistent inability of the kidneys to excrete acid properly, leading to metabolic acidosis, even when the transplanted kidney appears to have recovered function.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.