Objective:

The global prevalence of end-stage renal disease is growing. Renal transplantation (RTx) is considered as the best therapeutic approach for patients with end-stage renal disease. A significant number of complications faced by recipients after transplantation are related with immunosuppressive drugs (ISD). The aim of the present study was to describe ISD-related dermatological manifestations in RTx recipients.

Material and Methods:

Forty-eight RTx recipients (22 women, 26 men) were prospectively enrolled in a period of one year. Following a thorough dermatological examination, if present, skin lesions were noted. All skin lesions were classified as whether or not ISD-related. Detailed statistical analyses were done and a p-value of <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Results:

ISD-related skin lesions were observed in 66.7% of the patients (32/48) at the baseline dermatological examination and in 33.3% of the patients (16/48) during the followup period. The overall incidence of ISD-related skin lesions was 75%. Chi-square analysis revealed no statistically significant relationship between development of ISD-related skin lesions and the type of the ISD administered (p values were as follows: tacrolimus, 1,000; mycofenolat mofetil, 1.000; azathioprine, 1.000; sirolimus, 0.250; Cyclosporin A, 1.000). There was no statistically significant relationship between development of ISD-related skin lesions and length of the post-transplantation period (p=0.528). In addition, no statistically significant results were observed between development of malignant skin lesion and the type of the ISD administered (p values were 1.000 for tacrolimus, mycofenolat mofetil, azathioprine, sirolimus and Cyclosporin A or length of the post-transplantation period (p=0.067) or cigarette smoking (p=0.208) or alcohol consumption (p=1.000) or skin type (p=0.625).

Conclusions:

Here in this study, we have investigated ISDrelated dermatological manifestation in RTx recipients and tried to assess the relationship between these findings and patients’ characteristics. On the other hand, further studies are needed to establish ISD-related dermatological manifestation and long term complications, including skin cancer in RTx recipients.

Keywords: renal transplantation, immunosuppressives, dermatological manifestations