Early steroid withdrawal in renal transplantation with tacrolimus dual therapy: a pilot study

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Abstract
With tacrolimus-based immunosuppression, it appears safe to withdraw steroids 3 to 6 months after renal transplantation. We hypothesized whether steroids could also be safely withdrawn early after transplantation. Sixty-two patients (first or second transplant, with no previous immunological failure, and current panel reactive human leucocyte antigen [HLA] antibodies [PRA]0.70). The incidence of infections was comparable ( P>0.10). The incidence of new-onset diabetes mellitus, defined as the use of antidiabetic medication, was 8.0 (STOP) versus 30.3% (TAP) (P =0.04). All cases occurred in the STOP group after 1 year, while all cases occurred in TAP in the first 4 months ( P<0.001). Compared with tapering in 3 to 6 months, stopping steroids 1 week posttransplantation results in comparable patient and graft survival and in a similar incidence of acute rejections. The incidence of new-onset diabetes may be reduced. The immunosuppressive benefit of adding 10 mg prednisolone to tacrolimus seems to be limited.

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