Standard cyclosporine A-based versus completely steroid-free FK506-based immunosuppression after liver transplantation

Rapid steroid taper and neoral monotherapy in liver transplantation in Chile: a step in the right direction?

Diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, obesity, osteopenia, and increased risk of viral recurrence are among the complications associated with posttransplant steroid use. Steroid withdrawal or rapid taper has been reported to be safe. The aim of this study was to compare the rejection incidence and severity among patients treated with two different steroid taper strategies.

METHODS

This retrospective study included all the adult liver transplant recipients since the program's inception from 1993 to January 2002. The minimum follow-up was 1 year. Exclusions included patients receiving an immunosupressive regimen other than mycophenolate mofetil, steroids, and Neoral, or suffering an autoimmune etiology, or displaying patient or graft survival less than 1 year. The incidence and severity of rejection episodes were compared between the two groups of steroid taper protocols: group A received methylprednisolone (1 g) intraoperatively with a slow taper to 10 mg prednisone per day at 1 year. Group B received methylprednisolone (2 g) intraoperatively followed by a rapid reduction with intention to withdraw by month 4, continuing on Neoral monotherapy. Rejection diagnosis was made on histological bases.

RESULTS

One-month and 1-year rejection rates were 47% and 53%, respectively, among the rapid taper group with Neoral monotherapy, which was similar to 60% and 64%, respectively, in the slow taper group. Rejection severity was also comparable between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients treated with a rapid steroid taper protocol followed by Neoral monotherapy or a slow taper protocol showed similar acute rejection incidences and severities. Their survival rates were also comparable. Further study is necessary to evaluate the impact of rapid steroid taper to prevent the complications of steroid use.

Steroid-free immunosuppression during and after liver transplantation--a 3-yr follow-up report

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Steroids are traditionally used in liver transplantation as a part of a triple or quadruple immunosuppressive regimen. Steroids act non-specifically and cause multiple side-effects. Most liver transplantation centers reduce the dosage of steroids and eventually withdraw them after various time intervals. A few steroid-free trials have been recently conducted after liver transplantation but long-term data are not yet available. In addition, in these trials steroids were usually given during surgery. We report the long-term (median = 40 months) follow-up data of a prospective pilot study designed to determine whether liver transplantation could be performed with no steroids at all (neither during nor after surgery).

METHODS

Twenty-one consecutive liver transplantations in 20 adult patients between August 1998 and July 1999 were prospectively included in an ab initio steroid-free immunosuppressive protocol. Mean age was 54 yr (40-67 yr). Tacrolimus (through levels, 8-10 ng/mL) and azathioprine (1-2 mg/kg) were started after liver transplantation. Patients were not given steroids during or after liver transplantation except in the event of rejection or in case of tacrolimus or azathioprine toxicity requiring significant dose reduction and/or withdrawal.

RESULTS

There has been no case of primary graft dysfunction or non-function. Eleven of 21 liver transplantations (52%) received no steroids throughout the whole study. Rejection developed in five of 21 liver transplantations (23.5%). These rejections responded to standard i.v. steroids (plus ATG in one patient), followed by an oral steroid taper stopped 3 months after rejection. Steroids were transiently given in six liver transplantations for non-immune reasons: two with tacrolimus-induced neurotoxicity, three cases where azathioprine was discontinued, and one for an allergic reaction; four of these six patients are off steroids at last follow-up. The 3-yr graft and patient survival is 95 and 100%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Steroids are not necessary in more than 50% of liver transplantations. Steroids were transiently needed to treat acute rejection in 23.5% liver transplantations and for toxicity of calcineurin inhibitors or azathioprine or other reason in 28%. Of the patients who received steroids, the majority (70%) was eventually taken off steroids. This prospective single-center pilot study shows that liver transplantation without steroids is feasible and yields no penalty in terms of acute and chronic rejection, immune graft loss, graft function, patient and graft survival.

Complete freedom from rejection after intestinal transplantation using a new tolerogenic protocol combined with low immunosuppression

BACKGROUND

Intestinal transplantation (Itx) remains the most difficult form of transplantation. This is due to the high immunogenicity of the bowel that currently obligates Itx patients to heavy immunosuppression, which causes infection, posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD), and drug toxicity. Wider application of Itx depends on the development of tolerogenic strategies to promote engraftment while reducing the need for immunosuppression. We applied a strategy to clinical Itx that combines intraportal donor-specific blood transfusion with a deliberately low immunosuppression protocol (no high-dose steroids; lower tacrolimus level).

METHODS

A 55-year-old patient received a combined liver/Itx. Donor-specific whole blood was taken from the donor during procurement and transfused in the recipient portal vein after graft reperfusion. For induction immunosuppression, no intravenous bolus of steroids was given; only two doses of anti-interleukin 2 receptor antibody were administered. The patient received posttransplantation maintenance immunosuppression with lower tacrolimus levels than average (15 ng/ml first month; 5-10 ng/ml thereafter), low-dose azathioprine (1 mg/kg first to third months; 0.5 mg/kg thereafter), and low-dose steroids (Medrol 8 mg twice daily first and second months; 4 mg twice thereafter). The patient was monitored for rejection, graft-versus-host disease, infection, and PTLD. Protocol biopsy specimens were taken from the distal ileum (2 per week).

RESULTS

Clinical, endoscopic, and histologic signs of rejection did not develop. Chimerism was identified at day 28. Graft-versus-host disease was absent clinically. Chimerism was self-limiting and disappeared without modifying baseline immunosuppression and without observing a change in graft function. The patient remained free of systemic opportunistic infections, PTLD, and drug toxicity. Total parenteral nutrition was stopped at 7 weeks after transplantation. The patient remains free of total parenteral nutrition and free of rejection at 14 months after transplantation.

CONCLUSIONS

We describe an Itx patient who remained rejection free despite receiving significantly lower immunosuppression than average. We hypothesize that intraoperative immunomodulation via intraportal donor-specific blood transfusion in the absence of nonspecific overimmunosuppression promoted Itx acceptance.