Survival of living-related kidney graft recipients in the era of modern immunosuppressive treatment.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Currently, there is no consensus about immunosuppressive therapy following kidney transplantation. Acute rejection rates and allograft survival rates are the clinical outcomes traditionally used to compare the efficacy of various immunosuppressive regimens. Therefore, we conducted this study to evaluate whether patient survival rates improved in the era of modern immunosuppressive treatment during living-related kidney transplantation. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective cohort study in a university-based tertiary internal medicine teaching hospital performed between 1999 and 2009 and patients followed up to 7 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Survival rates were assessed in 38 patients receiving basiliximab and mycophenolate mofetil (regimen A) and 32 patients receiving antithymocyte globulin and azathioprine (regimen B). The rest of the regimen (cyclosporine A and steroids) remained the same. A secondary end point was acute rejection episode. RESULTS: Seven-year survival rates were 100% and 72% (P=.001) and 7-year acute rejection-free survival rates were 82% and 53% (P=.03), in groups A and B, respectively. CONCLUSION: Long-term survival after living-related kidney transplantation has improved in the era of modern immunosuppressive treatment.