UNOS/OPTN data guided assessment of IgA nephropathy recurrence after kidney transplantation and evaluation of immunosuppressive protocols in a steroid free center

Immunoglobulin A (IgA) Nephropathy (IgAN) is one of the most common recurrent glomerulopathies associated with graft loss and patient survival after kidney transplantation (KT). Steroid withdrawal regimens in KT have been associated with improvements of patient outcomes. The Scripps Center for Organ Transplantation (SCOT) utilizes a rapid low-dose steroid withdrawal immunosuppression (IS) protocol for KT maintenance. We assessed the impact of our protocol on IgAN recurrence over a 10-year period to reassess our steroid withdrawal and IS protocols to see if outcomes diverged from available UNOS data. Therefore, we used IS and induction matched retrospective data from UNOS to investigate patient and graft survival for IgAN. SCOT recurrence rates for IgAN was 13.6%. Overall outcomes of graft failure and recipient death did not differ between SCOT patients and data obtained from steroid free transplants from UNOS. Our results differ from earlier studies showing IgAN was associated with a higher risk of graft loss, perhaps due to selection of a SCOT IS matched dataset. Based on our analysis, we believe that it is safe to continue the steroid avoidance protocols at SCOT and think that it may be beneficial, given the adverse effects and toxicities associated with steroid use.