Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 1992 Aug;54(2):205-10; discussion 210-1.
doi: 10.1016/0003-4975(92)91371-f.

Clinical trial of FK 506 immunosuppression in adult cardiac transplantation

Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Clinical trial of FK 506 immunosuppression in adult cardiac transplantation

J M Armitage et al. Ann Thorac Surg. 1992 Aug.

Abstract

The new immunosuppressive agent FK 506 was used as primary immunotherapy in conjunction with low-dose steroids and azathioprine in 72 patients subsequent to orthotopic cardiac transplantation. Overall patient survival at a mean follow-up of 360 days was 92%. The number of episodes of cardiac rejection (grade 3A or greater) within 90 days of transplantation was 0.95 per patient. The actuarial freedom from rejection at 90 days was 41%. Achievement of this level of immunosuppression is comparable with that of cyclosporine-based triple-drug therapy with OKT3 immunoprophylaxis. Thirty percent of patients were tapered off all steroids, and the average steroid dose in the group who received steroids was 8.6 mg of prednisone per day. The incidence of infection reflected the diminished necessity for steroids: seven major infections (10%) and 11 minor infections (16%). Renal dysfunction occurred during the perioperative period in most patients in this trial. However, the incidence of hypertension was 54% compared with 70% during the cyclosporine era. Ten adults underwent successful rescue therapy with FK 506 after cardiac rejection refractory to conventional immunotherapy. Side effects of FK 506 were notably few, and the results of the trial are encouraging for the future of the cardiac transplant recipient.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Starzl TE, Todo S, Fung J, Demetris AJ, Venkataramanan R, Jain A. FK 506 for human liver, kidney and pancreas transplantation. Lancet. 1989;2:1000–4. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fung JJ, Todo S, Jain A. Conversion from cyclosporine to FK 506 in liver allograft recipients with cyclosporine-related complications. Transplant Proc. 1990;22:6–12. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Todo S, Fung JJ, Demetris AJ, Jain A, Venkataramanan R, Starzl TE. Early trials with FK 506 as primary treatment in liver transplantation. Transplant Proc. 1990;22:13–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Starzl TE, Fung JJ, Jordan M. Kidney transplantation under FK 506. JAMA. 1990;264:63–7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tamura K, Kobayashi M, Hashimoto K, et al. A highly sensitive method to assay FK 506 levels in plasma. Transplant Proc. 1987;19(Suppl 6):23–9. - PubMed

Publication types