Adjuvant treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid reduces acute rejection after liver transplantation.

• Acute rejection, occurring with a reported frequency of 50-70%, is still a dominating problem after liver transplantation. Medication with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) has beneficial effects in different cholestatic conditions and has also been shown to reduce HLA class I antigen expression on hepatocytes in patients with PBC. Since August 1989 we have consecutively treated all patients with primary graft function with UDCA (n = 41). Patients transplanted in the first half of 1989 served as a control group (n = 8). All patients in this study were given sequential quadruple drug immunosuppression. The treatment group were given oral UDCA 10 mg/kg per day. During the first postoperative month, 17% of the UDCA-treated patients had an episode of acute rejection compared with 75% of the control patients (P < 0.01). Liver biochemistry tests 1 month postoperatively were significantly better in patients treated with UDCA. The results suggest that adjuvant treatment with UDCA reduces acute liver graft rejection.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Acute Disease

Alanine Transaminase

blood

Alkaline Phosphatase

blood

Aspartate Aminotransferases

blood

Bilirubin

blood

Cholagogues and Choleretics

therapeutic use

Graft Rejection

prevention & control

Hepatectomy

methods

Humans

Liver Function Tests

Liver Transplantation

immunology

mortality

pathology

physiology

Middle Aged

Tissue and Organ Harvesting

methods

Ursodeoxycholic Acid

therapeutic use

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)