The relation of the functional prognosis of a kidney graft to the results of renography with radioactive hippuran (OIH-RG) was assessed in 96 patients after renal allograft transplantation in 1982. By October 1, 1984 26 of these kidneys had lost their function. The curves obtained from the gamma-camera OIH-RG are classified into six different curve patterns (curve types 1 to 6) as published earlier. For the evaluation of the long-term prognosis, the survival times of the kidneys were related to the curve types. The distribution of the curve types obtained in patients with a kidney survival longer than 144 weeks differs significantly from the curve type distribution when the kidney survival is shorter than 144 weeks. The individual survival times in the collective 26 lost kidneys show a relation to the different curve types. All kidneys with curve type 4 in the last examination before hospital discharge are lost within the first 20 weeks while curve types 1 and 2 promise a functional survival up to 144 weeks. Serum creatinine time courses and their relation to the OIH-RG curve patterns are analyzed by analyses of variance and covariance with repeated measurement. These statistical analyses reveal significant differences between the creatinine courses in the single curve types and, in addition, a significant interaction of the curve types with the creatinine courses. In curve type 1, a rapid normalization of an elevated creatinine level can be predicted, while in curve type 4 no improvement of the creatinine level and thus of kidney function can be expected at least within the five days following discharge.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)