STUDY OF CYCLOSPORINE-A BLOOD LEVEL DURING EARLY POST HEPATIC TRANSPLANT PERIOD

Correlations between acute rejection rate, cyclosporin A(CsA) blood le vel and CsA dose were studied in a group of 58 patients for 1 month fo llowing liver transplant. Therapy included prednisolone, azathioprine and CsA administered by continuous IV infusion. Blood CsA levels were measured by high performance liquid chromatography. No patient require d renal dialysis. An acute rejection episode was recorded in 24 patien ts (group 1) between days 4 and 28 (mean 8 days), while 34 patients (g roup 2) showed no signs of rejection. A significant difference was obs erved (p < 0.05) between blood CsA levels (mean +/- SEM over the 6 day s preceding the rejection episode in group 1 patients, and the first 6 postoperative days in group 2 patients (101 +/- 7 vs 121 +/- 5 ng/ml) . The mean daily dose of CsA calculated over the same time period was significantly lower (p < 0.001) in group 1 patients (46 +/- 2 vs 60 +/ - 2 mg/day). In addition, over the 8 days following surgery, only 54 % of patients in group 1 attained a mean blood CsA level of a least 100 ml, compared to 94 % in group 2.