Transplant Trial Watch

To keep the transplantation community informed about recently published level 1 evidence in organ transplantation ESOT and the Centre for Evidence in Transplantation have developed the Transplant Trial Watch.

The Transplant Trial Watch is a monthly overview of 10 new randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews. It includes a brief description of each study, an assessment of the reporting of some methodological quality features and the main conclusions of the report written by the Centre for Evidence in Transplantation (CET). RCTs and systematic reviews are selected by the Centre for Evidence in Transplantation on the basis of quality or interest. Electronic publications ahead of print are listed as [record in progress].

The first issue of the Transplant Trial Watch was published in September 2009. It is now made available to thousands of transplant professionals worldwide each month.

Click on each trial for more detail of findings and quality.


January 2014

Kidney transplantation

Deferred pre-emptive switch from calcineurin inhibitor to sirolimus leads to improvement in GFR and expansion of T regulatory cell population: a randomized, controlled trial.
Bansal D, Yadav AK, et al. PLoS ONE [Electronic Resource] 2013; 8(10): e75591.

The protein kinase C inhibitor sotrastaurin allows regulatory T cell function.
de Weerd A, Kho M, et al. Clinical and experimental immunology 2014; 175(2): 296-304

Pre-emptive treatment of cytomegalovirus infection in kidney transplant recipients with letermovir: results of a Phase 2a study.
Stoelben S, Arns W, et al. Transplant International 2014;27(1):77-86

In kidney transplant patients, alemtuzumab but not basiliximab/low-dose rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin induces B cell depletion and regeneration, which associates with a high incidence of de novo donor-specific anti-HLA antibody development.
Todeschini M, Cortinovis M, et al. Journal of Immunology 2013; 191(5): 2818-2828.

Liver transplantation

Epsilon-aminocaproic acid improves postrecirculation hemodynamics by reducing intraliver activated protein C consumption in orthotopic liver transplantation.
Kong HY, Wen XH, et al. World Journal of Surgery 2014 Jan;38(1):177-85.

Prospective, randomized study of ropivacaine wound infusion versus intrathecal morphine with intravenous fentanyl for analgesia in living donors for liver transplantation.
Lee SH, Gwak MS, et al. Liver Transplantation 19(9): 1036-1045.

Reduced fibrosis in recurrent HCV with tacrolimus, azathioprine and steroids versus tacrolimus: randomised trial long term outcomes
Manousou P, Cholongitas E, et al. Gut 2014; 63(6): 1005-1013.

Heart transplantation

Everolimus is associated with a reduced incidence of cytomegalovirus infection following de novo cardiac transplantation.
Kobashigawa J, Ross H, et al. Transplant Infectious Disease 15(2): 150-162.

Various organs

Oral and intravenous thyroxine (T4) achieve comparable serum levels for hormonal resuscitation protocol in organ donors: a randomized double-blinded study.
Sharpe MD, van Rassel B, et al. Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia 2013; 60(10): 998-1002.

Other

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalating phase I, healthy subjects study of intravenous OPN-305, a humanized anti-TLR2 antibody.
Reilly, M, Miller RM, et al Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics 2013; 94(5): 593-600