Polypharmacy and Accompanying Comorbid Conditions in Kidney Transplant Recipients: A Retrospective Study

Background: Kidney transplantation improves survival and quality of life, yet post-transplant care frequently necessitates complex pharmacotherapy due to immunosuppressive regimens and management of comorbidities. This often results in polypharmacy, which is associated with increased risk of adverse outcomes. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the immunosuppressive and other medications used in kidney transplant recipients, as well as the accompanying comorbid conditions. Methods: In this cross-sectional, multicenter study, 342 kidney transplant recipients were stratified into two groups: low-risk (≤5 medications) and moderate-to-high risk (≥6 medications) polypharmacy. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were analyzed to identify predictors of polypharmacy using multivariate logistic regression. Results: Moderate-to-high polypharmacy was observed in 64.9% of patients. This group had significantly higher creatinine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and glucose levels, and lower eGFR and hemoglobin values (all p