active surveillance for adverse events among patients who underwent renal transplantation: a prospective observational study

Aim: Renal transplantation is the treatment of choice for end-stage renal disease patients. Renal transplant recipients, however, have to be on lifelong therapy with immunosuppressants, which are associated with a number of adverse events (AEs). The safety profile of these immunosuppressants is not clear with respect to the Indian population. This study was conducted to find the frequency and pattern of all AEs experienced by Indian renal transplant recipients during the initial 3 months posttransplantation. Methods: Adults undergoing their first renal transplantation were enrolled in the study. All enrolled subjects were followed up for a maximum period of 3 months. All AEs were graded for severity and classified according to the Common Terminology Criteria for AEs criteria. Results: Ninety-eight renal transplant recipients enrolled in the study. There was a loss of follow-up of 7%. Five subjects died during the study. Subjects experienced on an average 9 AEs during the study. There was no difference in frequency of AEs between those on tacrolimus and cyclosporine. Most commonly observed AEs belonged to “Investigational” and “Metabolism and Nutrition” system organ classes. The most common AE was hypokalemia. New-onset diabetes after transplantation (NODAT) developed in 28% of subjects. There were 27 episodes of acute nephrotoxicity. Conclusion: The incidence of NODAT in the Indian population is substantially higher than that observed in the Western population. The incidence of nephrotoxicity may indicate higher sensitivity of the Indian population to calcineurin inhibitors.