Introduction The full assessment of children prior to organ transplantation includes evaluation of renal function as chronic renal disease is a serious and common long term complication. This is especially important in small bowel transplant candidates with long term intestinal failure where renal compromise may occur prior to transplantation, secondary to the long term need for parenteral nutrition (PN), episodes of sepsis and exposure to nephrotoxic antibiotics. It is therefore essential to assess accurately renal function in patients referred for small bowel transplantation in order to identify those, who will benefit from relatively renal-sparing immunosuppression regimes and non-nephrotoxic antibiotic treatment post-transplantation. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) prediction equations based on plasma creatinine clearance (eg Schwartz) may be used to estimate renal function. However, the plasma creatinine will be influenced by muscle mass and chronic nutritional compromise such as the short bowel population. A more accurate estimate of renal function can be achieved by measuring a radiopharmaceutical that is exclusively cleared by glomerular filtration (e.g. CrEDTA). The aim of this study is to determine the best measure of GFR in children assessed for small bowel transplant by comparing cGFR with CrEDTA.
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