Ureterovesical Anastomosis and Urinary Infections after Kidney Transplantation: Two Techniques Comparison

Objective: Urinary infections developing after kidney transplantation may depend on the type of ureterovesical anastomosis performed. Patients and Methods: A randomized prospective study was performed on 56 patients, from October 2004 to March 2006, receiving kidney transplants from cadaveric donors to compare 2 types of ureterovesical anastomosis. We considered the number and types of urinary infections, the duration of their treatment, and their complete/ partial resolution during the first year after transplantation. Twenty-eight patients (group A) underwent ureterovesical anastomosis according to the Lich-Gregoir technique, the other 28 patients (group B) using the Knechtle method. The 2 groups were comparable in terms of donor and recipient characteristics. Results: The mean duration of the period of antibiotic treatment was 17 ± 11 days in group A and 15 ± 7 days in group B (p = 0.63), while the intravenous antibiotic treatment lasted a mean 11 ± 6 days in group A and 10 ± 3 days in group B (p = 0.54). The antibiotic treatment completely resolved the urinary infection in all cases treated. No grafts were lost due to complications of urinary infections. Conclusion: Our data revealed no statistically significant differences between the 2 types of ureterovesical anastomosis considered in terms of the prevalence of infections or graft survival during the first year of follow-up.