Leg bone pain syndrome due to cyclosporine in a renal transplant patient.

A leg bone pain syndrome of unclear etiology has been recently described in renal transplant patients receiving cyclosporine A. Herein we report a 54-year-old woman treated with cyclosporine A (CsA), corticosteroids and azathioprine who developed two months after renal transplantation severe symmetric pain with periarticular soft tissue swelling in the knees and metatarsophalangeal joints. Scintigraphy showed periarticular radionuclide activity. Clinical onset was associated with both the high dosage and with the plasma levels of CsA. Symptoms improved when the dosage of CsA was reduced and the plasma levels declined to less than 150 ng/ml.