Recent results reported by Ciancio et al. have demonstrated the long term successful use of dual induction therapy in kidney transplant recipients. Our experience using an "induction cocktail", thymoglobuline plus basiliximab, started in 2007 and we have treated 235 patients through the past 10years. In our population, we used a combination of CNIs and MMF or mTORi as maintenance therapy. Our results in term of patient and graft survival, acute rejection rate, renal function and incidence of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder support the data reported by Ciancio. We believe that double induction therapy allows on one hand to delay the CNIs introduction, reducing delayed graft function, and on the other hand protects the patient while building the targeted drugs exposures, so reducing the incidence of acute rejection.
Keywords: Basiliximab; Graft survival; Induction therapy; Patient survival; Rabbit antithymocyte globulin; Renal transplantation.
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