Immunosuppressive treatment of primary cadaveric renal transplant patients receiving kidneys from non-heart beating donors.

Since November 1982, 276 primary cadaveric kidney transplants have been performed using kidneys from non-heart beating donors. Between November 1982 and December 1986, 49 transplant patients were treated with cyclosporine and steroid immunosuppressive therapy (CSA regimen). Twenty-seven patients were treated with low dose cyclosporine (initial dosage, 4 mg/kg/day), steroid therapy, and a 21-day course of 500 mg/day antilymphocyte globulin (ALG 1 regimen) between January 1987 and December 1987. Seventy-nine patients were treated with low dose cyclosporine (initial dosage, 6 mg/ kg/day), steroid therapy, and a 14-day course of 1,000 mg/day antilymphocyte globulin (ALG 2 regimen) between January 1988 and June 1990, and 85 patients were treated with low dose cyclosporine (initial dosage, 6 mg/ kg/day), steroid therapy, and a 14-day course of 1,000 mg/day antilymphocyte globulin followed by 2 mg/kg/day mizoribine (ALG 3 regimen) between July 1990 and May 1995. Ten patients, who showed hypersensitivity to antilymphocyte globulin therapy, were treated with low dose cyclosporine, steroid therapy, and mizoribine. Finally, 26 patients were treated with FK506 and steroid therapy (FK506 regimen) between June 1990 and February 1992. Graft survival was 78% at 1 year, 69% at 3 years, 63% at 5 years, and 51% at 10 years in the CSA regimen group and 67% at 1 year, 52% at 3 years, and 48% at 5 years in the ALG 1 regimen group. It was 85% at 1 year, 70% at 3 years, and 62% at 5 years in the ALG 2 regimen group and 87% at 1 year and 67% at 3 years in the ALG 3 regimen group. In the FK506 regimen group, graft survival was 92% at 1 year and 80% at 3-5 years. Never-functioning grafts were observed in 3 CSA patients (6%), 1 ALG 1 patient (4%), 3 ALG 2 patients (4%), 3 ALG 3 patients (4%), and 1 FK506 patient (4%). These results indicate that low dose cyclosporine (initial dosage, 6 mg/kg/day), steroid therapy, and a 14 day course of antilymphocyte globulin therapy is beneficial for cadaveric renal transplant patients receiving kidneys from non-heart beating donors; FK506 and steroid therapy might be more effective than cyclosporine based immunosuppressive therapies even in such patients.