Impact of G-CSF Therapy on Leukopenia and Acute Rejection Following Kidney Transplantation

Leukopenia is a common problem after kidney transplantation. The therapeutic approach typically includes a reduction of the immunosuppressive therapy, which is associated with an increased risk of rejection and allograft loss. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is used as a therapeutic option to raise the leukocyte blood count; however, the effect on acute rejections is controversial.

The goal of this study is to examine the incidence of acute rejections following G-CSF therapy.

We retrospectively evaluated patients with leukopenia following kidney transplantation and GCSF therapy between January 2007 and December 2017 at our center compared to controls with matched minimal leucocyte blood count in a matched pair analysis.

We identified 12 patients, who received G-CSF therapy with a cumulative dose of 10.74 µg/kg body weight over a time frame of 4.3 days. G-CSF therapy resulted in a significantly shorter time period with leucocytes <3,000/µL (9.5 vs. 16.6 days), but also trended towards an increased risk of rejection within the next 30 days with three patients in the G-CSF group and no patient in the control group (p=0.06) developing an acute biopsy-proven rejection. Infection and mortality rate in the subsequent year were not different between groups.

G-CSF therapy decreases the duration of leukopenia post-kidney transplantation, but may also increase the risk of an acute rejection.