Experience with renal transplantation in Rajasthan.

To determine th usefulness of various immunosuppressive regimens in renal transplantation and to study various complications at a new centre, we analysed 41 patients of end stage renal disease who underwent renal transplantation in our hospital over a period of three years. The first 11 patients (Group I) received azathioprine-prednisolone, the next 30 patients (Group II) received cyclosporin-prednisolone-azathioprine combination therapy. Over a mean followup of 33.36 +/- 8.19 months in group I, the survival rate was 63.6%; in group II over a followup of 14.86 +/- 2.9 months, survival was 86.66%. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed a trend to improved survival in group II but results did not reach statistical significance (Log rank test statistic = 2.77, p < 0.1). The incidence of infection was significantly lower in group II (p < 0.05). The major causes of death were infections, rejection, cyclosporin toxicity, acute pancreatitis, and ruptured mycotic aneurysm in one case.