ENHANCED INVITRO HEMOSTASIS AND REDUCED THROMBOLYSIS IN CYCLOSPORINE-TREATED RENAL-TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS

In vitro hemostatometry and assessment of thrombolysis was carried out in three groups of 72 renal transplant recipients. In one (triple, n=21) immunosuppression was with cyclosporine, azathioprine, and prednisolone, while a second group (CsA, n=29) received cyclosporine and prednisolone alone, and the third group (Aza, n=22) azathioprine and prednisolone. Results were compared with those in 30 normal controls. A statistically significant increase in hemostasis compared with controls was seen in the triple group and in patients in the CsA group studied within 2 years of transplantation. Hemostasis in the Aza group did not differ from normal. All patients in this group had been transplanted more than 2 years before study. Thrombolysis times were significantly prolonged compared with controls in all three groups. Cyclosporine treatment is associated with enhanced hemostasis and reduced thrombolysis, especially during the first 2 years after renal transplantation. If these in vitro findings reflect events in vivo, this may throw light upon the pathogenesis of the obliterative arteriol- opathy that is a feature of cyclosporine nephrotoxicity. © 1990 by Williams & Wilkins.