Improved long-term survival after heart transplantation predicted by successful early withdrawal from maintenance corticosteroid therapy.
BACKGROUND
Short-term studies suggest that cardiac transplant immunosuppression without maintenance corticosteroids is feasible in selected patients. However, concern exists as to the long-term effects, specifically the possibility of increased morbidity and mortality because of late allograft rejection and allograft coronary artery disease.


METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the records from 441 consecutive heart transplantation procedures done in 416 patients with use of an immunosuppressive protocol that attempted corticosteroid withdrawal within 2 months of transplantation. forty-two patients died or underwent retransplantation during the first 3 months and were excluded from further analysis. Analysis focused on demographic and long-term outcome variables (including death, rejection, retransplantation, and infection).


RESULTS
Thirty percent (111) of eligible patients (374) met the definition of successful early steroid withdrawal. Only male gender independently predicted successful withdrawal. Mortality, both short and long term, was significantly lower in patients in whom successful early withdrawal from corticosteroids was achieved than in patients in whom the early attempts failed (1.7% per year versus 4.7% per year; p < 0.0001). The prevalence of late acute allograft rejection (more than 1 year after transplantation) was lower in patients successfully withdrawn from steroid therapy early after transplantation (0.07 pt-yr of follow-up versus 0.15 pt-yr; p = 0.002). Multivariate analysis of the entire group identified incidence of infection (p = 0.001), older age (p = 0.001), failed early steroid withdrawal (p = 0.006), and female gender (p = 0.016) as independent predictors of mortality.


CONCLUSIONS
Successful early corticosteroid withdrawal identifies a subgroup of "immunologically privileged" patients with a low risk for long-term mortality and is not associated with an increased prevalence of late rejection or clinically significant coronary artery disease.
Department of Internal Medicine, Salt Lake City Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Utah, USA.
D O
DO
Taylor
M R
MR
Bristow
J B
JB
O'Connell
G D
GD
Price
E H
EH
Hammond
D B
DB
Doty
S V
SV
Karwande
W A
WA
Gay
K W
KW
Jones
D
D
Lappé
D G
DG
Renlund
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011241:Prednisone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors
D005938:Glucocorticoids; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D011241:Prednisone; D008775:Methylprednisolone