posted on 2016-11-21, 13:00authored byM. P. Graham-Brown, R. Aljayyousi, R. J. Baines, J. O. Burton, N. J. Brunskill, P. Furness, P. Topham
We report the case of a 40-year-old female transplant patient with undiagnosed ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) and renal allograft dysfunction who achieved disease remission with restoration of transplant function following induction therapy with rituximab. There are currently no trial data looking at the use of rituximab for induction of remission of renal transplant patients with AAV. Although recurrence of AAV following renal transplantation is rare, such patients have invariably had multiple previous exposures to induction and maintenance immunosuppressive regimens, often limiting treatment options post-transplantation. In this case, rituximab was well tolerated with no side effects, and was successful in salvaging transplant function. Optimal treatment regimens for relapsed AAV in the transplant population are not known, and clinical trials are needed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rituximab at inducing and maintaining disease remission in relapsed AAV following transplantation.
History
Citation
Oxford Medical Case Reports, 2016;10, 248–251
Author affiliation
/Organisation/COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND PSYCHOLOGY/School of Medicine/Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation