High-dosage intravenously administered methylprednisolone in renal transplantation. A preliminary report.

Abstract

Large doses of methylprednisolone were used intravenously as the sole steroid agent in 44 transplants in 43 renal allografted patients for the first two to three weeks after operation and for all episodes of rejection. Orally administered steroids were used only at uniformly low dosage. Although significant rejection episodes occurred, they were almost universally reversible when methylprednisolone was administered intravenously in high doses, the exceptions being the hyperacute responses. The use of this drug form was associated with minimal stigmata of hypercorticism and a low incidence of complications, despite transplantation in high-risk patients.