Publications by authors named "Grainne Walsh"
Background: Blood group incompatible transplantation (ABOi) in children is rare as pretransplant conditioning remains challenging and concerns persist about the potential increased risk of rejection.
Methods: We describe the results of 11 ABOi pediatric renal transplant recipients in the 2 largest centers in the United Kingdom, sharing the same tailored desensitization protocol. Patients with pretransplant titers of 1 or more in 8 received rituximab 1 month before transplant; tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil were started 1 week before surgery.
Objective: Despite improvements in recent years at many centres, there remains an overall lack of consistency in the healthcare and support services provided to young people during their transition from paediatric to adult transplant units. Concerns that such deficiencies may be causally related to subsequent graft loss through patient non-concordance have prompted calls for the delivery of a more patient-centred service. To address these issues, representatives from major transplantation centres in the UK (cardiac, hepatic, renal) and across all disciplines were brought together to produce a series of consensus statements specifying key actions needed to improve the quality and consistency of transition healthcare.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Basiliximab is a chimeric human/mouse monoclonal antibody directed against the alpha chain of the IL-2 receptor, CD25, which has been reported as successfully reducing rejection in adult renal transplant recipients. Reported clinical experience of basiliximab in paediatric renal transplantation is limited.
Methods: Using two intravenous doses on day 0 (pre-operatively) and day 4 with prednisolone and cyclosporin A (dual) maintenance immunosuppression in 42 children undergoing renal transplantation in our unit (SIM group), we have compared patient and graft outcome, rejection rates in the first 6 months, renal function and the incidence of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection with 42 consecutive children who previously received antilymphocyte globulin immunoprophylaxis with prednisolone, cyclosporin A and azathioprine (triple) maintenance immunosuppression (ALG group).