Steroids and Recurrent IgA Nephropathy After Kidney Transplantation

We studied the impact of steroid use on kidney graft loss due to recurrent IgA nephropathy (IgAN). We used data from the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry (ANZDATA) to conduct a survival analysis of adult recipients of a first kidney transplant for IgAN who received a graft between 1988 and 2007. Predictors of graft loss due to recurrent IgAN were analyzed in a competing risk survival analysis with steroid use modeled as a time‐varying covariate. Fifteen hundred twenty‐one recipients with kidney failure due to biopsy‐proven IgAN received a first kidney transplant during the study period. Four hundred and twenty‐eight recipients experienced graft loss, of which 54 losses (12.6%) were attributed to recurrent IgAN. The overall 10‐year cumulative incidence of graft loss from recurrent IgAN was 4.3% (95% CI 3.1–5.8). Prevalence of steroid use was 92% at baseline, 84% at 1 year and 64% at 5 years. After adjusting for age, sex, HLA mismatch, dialysis duration and transplant era, steroid use was strongly associated with a reduced risk of recurrence (subhazard ratio 0.50, 95% CI 0.30–0.84). These results suggest that the risk of graft loss from recurrent disease should be considered when tailoring immunosuppression for patients with IgAN.