PROMISING EARLY OUTCOMES WITH A NOVEL, COMPLETE STEROID AVOIDANCE IMMUNOSUPPRESSION PROTOCOL IN PEDIATRIC RENAL TRANSPLANTATION1

Corticosteroids have been a cornerstone of immunosuppression for four decades despite their adverse side effects. Past attempts at steroid withdrawal in pediatric renal transplantation have had little success. This study tests the hypothesis that a complete steroid-free immunosuppressive protocol avoids steroid dependency for suppression of the immune response with its accompanying risk of acute rejection on steroid withdrawal.An open labeled...