Rapid Weaning of Steroids after Cardiac Transplantation Improves Outcomes

Modern regimen using corticosteroids (CS), tacrolimus and MMF reduced acute rejection rates after heart transplantation (HTx), but has not translated into improved long-term outcomes, potentially due to the complications of the drugs themselves. Therefore, many centers have tried to avoid or minimize CS, and in 2010 we adopted a weaning protocol, changing from a high dose CS regimen (1 mg/kg/day declining in the first month), to a low dose approach (prednisone 20 mg daily on day 3 with weaning within 9 months).

Source: The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation - March 31, 2020 Category: Transplant Surgery Authors: C. Minato, A. Nasri, M. Carrier, M. White, Y. Lamarche, N. Racine, S. De Denus, A. Ducharme Tags: (672) Source Type: research