Skin disorders in renal transplant recipients: A retrospective study

Background: immunosuppressive therapy,which is necessary to avoid graft rejection in renal transplant recipients,presents an increased risk of several pathologies,namely infectious and neoplastic. objectives: to identify the most frequent skin diseases and their clinical and demographical risk factors within a population of renal transplant recipients. methods: a retrospective study of renal transplant recipients referred to dermatology visit and observed for the first time from january 2008 to december 2014. results: the study included 197 patients,120 men (60,9%). mean age was 50,7 years (±13,4). 12 patients (6,1%) had previous skin cancer. infections were the most frequent reason of referral (93/197; 44%). from the total referred,18,3% (36/197) presented pre-cancerous lesions. malignancy was diagnosed in 36 patients (18,3%),with 29 non-melanoma skin cancers (14,7%) and 7 kaposi sarcomas (3,6%). ratio of basal cell carcinoma to squamous cell carcinoma was 1,1:1. non-melanoma skin cancer was significantly associated with older age (p = 0,002),male gender (p = 0,028),history of previous skin cancer (p = 0,002) and higher duration of immunosuppressive therapy (p<0,001). study limitations: retrospective study,with data from the first visit in dermatology. we didn’t made classification on skin-types. conclusions: the great incidence of cutaneous infections and skin cancer is responsible for a significant morbidity. it is important to assure the regular dermatological follow-up of renal transplant recipients,which will promote the prevention,an early diagnosis and an efficient treatment. © 2017 by anais brasileiros de dermatologia.