title: Pancreas transplantation alone in children: a case report.
abstract: Pancreas transplantation (PT) is a relatively uncommon therapy for non-uremic type 1 diabetes, as the severity of diabetes must warrant the risk of immunosuppression. In pediatric diabetic patients, who are less likely to display uremia because of the duration of diabetes, there is very little experience with pancreas transplantation alone (PTA). This report describes a 13-yr-old male PTA recipient. This patient was initially diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus at the age of four yr. Following a multidisciplinary evaluation, PTA was found to be indicated based on a history of severe labile diabetes and hypoglycemic unawareness resulting in frequent episodes of hypoglycemia and hospital admissions. Because of the failure of medical management of the patient's diabetes, a whole organ bladder and systemic drained PTA was performed. Immunosuppression included thymoglobulin, tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and steroids. Early outcome was uneventful and patient was discharged 12 d after surgery normoglycemic and insulin-free. An episode of acute rejection (Maryland grade II) 20-d post-transplant was successfully treated with corticosteroids. A second and more severe episode of rejection (Maryland grade IV) occurred 13 months post-transplant, requiring treatment with thymoglobulin and conversion from steroid to sirolimus. On tacrolimus, sirolimus, and mycophenolic acid, he remains euglycemic and insulin-free 38 months after PTA. His quality-of-life is judged to be superior to his insulin dependent state prior to transplantation. According to the medical literature, this is the youngest patient ever to undergo PTA.
authors.affiliation: Pancreas Transplant Service, Albert Einstein Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perosa
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Crescentini
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Antunes
authors.forename: Erika B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Rangel
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rangel
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guimaro
authors.forename: João Roberto
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: de Sá
authors.forename: Arie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carneiro
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yonezawa
authors.forename: Tercio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Genzini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000681:Amylases / Q000652:urine; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000601:surgery*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D010179:Pancreas / Q000473:pathology; D016035:Pancreas Transplantation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D007328:Insulin; D000681:Amylases