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Safety and Efficacy of a Calcineurin-Inhibitor Avoidance Regimen in Pediatric Renal Transplantation

06/2006

Journal Article

Authors:
Harmon, W.; Meyers, K.; Ingelfinger, J.; McDonald, R.; McIntosh, M.; Ho, M.; Spaneas, L.; Palmer, J.; Hawk, M.; Geehan, C.; Tinckam, K.; Hancock, W.; Sayegh, M.

Secondary:
J Am Soc Nephrol

Volume:
17

Pagination:
1735-1745

URL:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16687625

Keywords:
Adolescent; Calcineurin; Child; Female; Glomerular filtration rate; Graft Rejection; Graft Survival; Immunosuppressive Agents; kidney transplantation; Male; Pilot Projects; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome

Abstract:
Thirty-four children were entered into a pilot trial of calcineurin inhibitor avoidance after living-donor kidney transplantation, the CN-01 study. Patients were treated with anti-CD25 mAb, prednisone, mycophenolate mofetil, and sirolimus. Twenty patients were maintained on the protocol for up to 3 yr of follow-up. One enrolled patient did not receive the transplant because of a donor problem, eight terminated because of one or more rejection episodes, four terminated because of adverse events, and one was lost to follow-up. Two grafts were lost, one as a result of chronic rejection and the other as a result of posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disorder. There were no deaths. The 6- and 12-mo acute rejection rates were 21.8 and 31.5%, respectively. GFR were stable throughout the course of the study, with a slight downward trend by 6 mo after transplantation followed by a slight upward trend to a mean of 70 ml/min thereafter. Early surveillance graft biopsies frequently showed focal interstitial mononuclear cellular infiltrates without overt vasculitis or tubulitis, but these infiltrates disappeared without treatment. Anti-HLA class I and II antibodies were detected in three patients before transplantation, and all three had acute rejections, including the two patients who lost their grafts. De novo anti-HLA Ab production occurred in only one patient after transplantation. There were two episodes of Epstein Barr virus-related posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disorder, one of which developed after the patient had been terminated from the study. It is concluded that calcineurin inhibitor-free immunosuppression can be safe and effective in pediatric living-donor renal transplantation. However, further modifications that are designed to lessen early rejection rates and decrease complications should be tested before this approach is used routinely.

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