Abstract
Steroid therapy was withdrawn in 85% of 152 orthotopic liver transplant recipients with grafts surviving for more than 3 months, and 87% of these remained steroid-free. Steroid therapy was restarted in 8% for reasons other than rejection. The most common was conversion of immunosuppression because of cyclosporine nephrotoxicity. The incidence of rejection after steroid withdrawal was low: 3.8% for chronic rejection (CR) and 4.5% for acute rejection. Only 3 grafts (1.9%) were lost because of CR. No risk factors have been identified for the development of CR after steroid withdrawal, but a protective role for azathioprine has been suggested.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | S470-S472 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Transplant international : official journal of the European Society for Organ Transplantation |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | S1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1992 |
Externally published | Yes |