Pancreatitis in renal transplant recipients: A report of three cases

Pancreatitis has been reported to occur in 2%-6% of renal allograft recipients. Pancreatitis complicating the course of an immunosuppressed patient carries a high incidence of morbidity, and is frequently lethal. The evidence, however, of cause-effect relationship between renal transplantation and pancreatitis has remained incomplete and inconclusive. Analysis of the clinical course of three patients among our allograft recipients who developed pancreatitis is presented. Kidney transplantations were performed using standard surgical technique. Immunosuppression was maintained with high doses of Prednisone which are rapidly tapered to a maintenance dose of 0.5 mg Prednisone per kilo per day, and Azathioprine of 1-1.5 mg per kilo per day. When the diagnosis of pancreatitis was made, oral Prednisone and Azathioprine were discontinued, and Prednisolone and Cyclophosphamide were administered to maintain immunosuppression.