[Results, over a 3-year, period of a triple combination: cyclosporin, azathioprine, prednisolone in high-risk kidney transplants].

A prospective study was conducted on 57 high-risk patients having received cadaver renal transplants between January 1983 and May 1984, and submitted to the triple combination: cyclosporine, azathioprine, and steroids. 23 patients of Group I including 12 pre-sensitized and poorly matched recipients were treated from the Day 1 post-transplant. 34 patients of Group II received the triple combination following a steroid-ALG resistant rejection. Actuarial graft survival in the whole group was 74%, 64%, and 64% at 1, 2, and 3 years respectively. Patient survival was 100% in the Group I, vs 85% at 1 year, and 82% at 2 years in the group II (p less than 0.02). The incidence of infectious complications and infectious deaths was significantly higher in patients of Group II. Our results suggest the effectiveness of a triple low-doses combination in high-risk renal transplantation, but the delayed use of this combination following a treatment with high-doses of steroids and ALG fails to reverse the rejection, with an obvious overimmunosuppression risk.