Quality of life outcomes associated with variable posttransplant prednisone dosing regimens

Prednisone tapering has become more common in the management of transplant recipients. Benefits of this practice, however, must be weighed against the risks. This study identified outcomes associated with variable low dose prednisone protocols. The study sample included 98 kidney and kidney-pancreas transplant recipients 1 year after transplant. Graft function, side effects of steroid therapy, and quality of life were recorded on patients receiving 0 (n = 5), 1 to 5 (n = 4), 5 to 7.5 (n = 5), 7.5 to 10 (n = 21), and greater than 10 mg/d prednisone (n = 63). Despite the fact that patients were assigned to the low dose groups because they were at risk for or already experiencing steroid induced side effects, the low dose groups presented side effect and quality of life profiles similar to or better than those of the standard dose group.