Interstitial Pneumonitis Associated with Sirolimus Therapy in Renal-Transplant Recipients

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Abstract
Sirolimus is a new, highly potent immunosuppressive drug1,2 that was recently licensed in the United States and is currently being evaluated in phase 3 clinical trials in Europe. The main side effects of sirolimus are thrombocytopenia and hyperlipidemia.1 In one study, the frequency of pneumonia was higher in patients receiving sirolimus than in patients receiving cyclosporine. The pneumonia was considered to be of infectious origin, but the overall rate of infection in the sirolimus group was not increased.3 We report three cases of sirolimus-induced interstitial pneumonitis in renal-transplant recipients who were receiving sirolimus as immunosuppressive therapy (trough blood concentrations, 15 to 30 ng per milliliter).