title: A review on comparing two commonly used rabbit anti-thymocyte globulins as induction therapy in solid organ transplantation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Two rabbit anti-thymocyte globulins (ATGs) (Thymoglobulin™ and ATG-Fresenius (ATG-F)™) have been used commonly for induction immunosuppression and treatment of acute rejection in solid organ transplantation. Therefore, literature review on comparative efficacy and side-effect profile of them would be of clinical interest.
  
  
  METHODS
  This review evaluated all comparative studies in English language, focusing on the solid organ transplant patients who received Thymoglobulin or ATG-F as induction therapy. This review concluded that compared to ATG-F, Thymoglobulin possibly provides better protection against acute rejection and improves patient and graft survival but may result in more cytomegalovirus infection and post-transplant malignancy. Thymoglobulin produced more leukocyte depletion with a greater delay to recover, while ATG-F had more reduction effects on platelet and erythrocyte counts with an increased need to erythropoiesis-stimulating agent.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The benefits of induction therapy with ATGs must be weighed against the costs and post-transplant complications. It is suggest that there is no substantial clinical difference between these two rabbit ATGs and each may be considered as induction therapy for solid organ transplantation based on availability and drug cost. Of special importance is adding antiviral therapy to the treatment regimen of patients who receive ATGs as induction therapy.
authors.affiliation: Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Afshin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gharekhani
authors.forename: Taher
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Entezari-Maleki
authors.forename: Simin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dashti-Khavidaki
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Khalili
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000961:Antilymphocyte Serum / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics; D016527:Drug Costs; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics; D016377:Organ Transplantation; D011817:Rabbits; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D000961:Antilymphocyte Serum; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents