Gastrointestinal Side Effects of Post-Transplant Therapy.

Modern immunosuppressive therapy has produced a real revolution in renal and organ transplantation but it comes with the price of multiple side effects. There are many gastrointestinal (GI) complications that are the consequence of transplant immunosuppressant medication. In fact, for any immunosuppressant therapy, certain standardized precepts and attitudes that aim to reduce the incidence and the impact of the medication side effects must be applied.

[Surgical overview on kidney and pancreas transplantation].

The main purpose of this paper, written by a group of Italian expert transplant surgeons, is to provide clinical support and to help through the decision-making process over pre-transplant surgical procedures in potential kidney recipients, as well as selection of pancreas transplant candidates and perioperative management of kidney recipient. Current topics such as different approaches in minimally invasive donor nephrectomy, methods of graft preservation and treatment of failed allograft were addressed.

Acute allograft rejection following interferon therapy for hepatitis C in recipients who have returned to dialysis after kidney transplant failure: case study.

Interferon-based therapy remains the gold standard for hepatitis C in patients with chronic kidney disease; however, due to the high rate of IFN-induced rejection after transplant, treatment of HCV-infected kidney transplant recipients is recommended only in particular circumstances. We report the case of a 45-year-old Caucasian female with chronic hepatitis C (genotype 1b) who returned to hemodialysis following the complete functional loss of her kidney transplant. She started combination antiviral therapy with peg-IFN-α2a (135 mcg sc weekly) plus ribavirin (200 mg daily) nine months after the re-initiation of hemodialysis.

Improved treatment feasibility in children with hemophilia using arteriovenous fistulae: the results after seven years of follow-up.

Background: An easy and stable venous access is essential in hemophilic children who receive regular prophylaxis or immune tolerance induction treatment. Central venous access devices improve treatment feasibility, but their use is complicated by infection and/or thrombosis. Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) has been evaluated as an alternative to central venous access devices in hemophilic children since 1999.

Longitudinal evaluation of mycophenolic acid pharmacokinetics in pediatric kidney transplant recipients. The role of post-transplant clinical and therapeutic variables.

This longitudinal study assessed the influence of post-transplant clinical and therapeutic variables in 50 kidney transplant recipients aged 2-19 yr receiving a triple immunosuppressive regimen consisting of cyclosporine microemulsion (CsA), steroids and MMF (300-400 mg/m(2) body surface area twice daily), the full pharmacokinetic profile (10 points) of which was investigated on post-transplant days 6, 30, 180 and 360. Total plasma MPA was measured by Enzyme Multiplied Immunoassay Technique. CsA therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) was performed via C2 blood monitoring, while MPA TDM via C0.

Combined liver-kidney transplantation in glycogen storage disease Ia: a case beyond the guidelines.

Glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSD Ia) is a rare metabolic disorder due to hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase deficiency. Although great progress has been made in managing affected patients, severe hypoglycemia, lactic acidosis, hyperlipidemia, hepatic cytolysis, and impaired kidney function are frequent. Liver transplantation is the only radical treatment, for which the main indications are hepatic adenomatosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, or severe hepatic dysfunction.

C0 or C2 driven cyclosporine monitoring in long-term pediatric kidney transplant recipients: is there any threat for chronic rejection development?

The clinical management of cyclosporine has evolved greatly during the last decade thanks to the use of pharmacokinetic (PK) studies which confirmed the dose relationship between drug exposure and its biological effects. Therefore, cyclosporine PK monitoring during the early phase of the post-transplant period became essential to avoid over or underexposure to the drug thus preventing the risk of nephrotoxicity or acute rejection episodes. More recently, a simple PK determination based on cyclosporine blood concentration measured 2 h after the morning dose, has proven to be very effective for monitoring cyclosporine exposure in the early postoperative period.

Renal transplantation. Strategies to prevent organ rejection--the role of an inter-regional reference center.

This paper summarizes the role of the Inter-Regional Reference Center (RC) of the North Italy Transplant program (NITp), in coordinating a donor procurement and organ transplantation network, with a special focus on the strategies to minimize immunological risk and complications after transplantation. In the NITp, patients enrolled on the renal transplantation (RT) waiting list are typed for HLA-A,B,DRB1 antigens with a genomic method. They are periodically screened for the presence of lymphocytotoxic antibodies in their serum by the RC and their suitability to receive the transplant is checked periodically.

Long-term safety and feasibility of arteriovenous fistulae as vascular accesses in children with haemophilia: a prospective study.

Infectious and thrombotic complications limit the long-term use of subcutaneous ports as venous accesses for children with haemophilia. This study has evaluated for the first time the safety and feasibility of internal arteriovenous fistulae (AVF) as alternative accesses. During the 3-year study period, 27 severe haemophiliacs, 14 with factor VIII inhibitors (52%), underwent the creation of 31 proximal AVF in the forearm.

Conversion from cyclosporine to tacrolimus in pediatric kidney transplant recipients.

In pediatric kidney transplant recipients, tacrolimus has been proposed either for primary immunosuppression or as a rescue agent for refractory acute rejection, chronic rejection, and cyclosporine toxicity. This paper describes our experience with tacrolimus conversion from cyclosporine-based therapy in six selected cases: four due to refractory acute rejections unresponsive to conventional therapy, one to chronic graft rejection, and one to cyclosporine-related hypertrichosis. A "simple-switch" conversion was used without any overlap, starting with a dose of 0.