Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36601111›Full record

Trial reportFrontiers in immunology2022

Early calcineurin-inhibitor to belatacept conversion in steroid-free kidney transplant recipients.

Ibrahim Tawhari, Patrick Hallak, Sofia Bin, Fatmah Yamani, Maria Safar-Boueri, Aazib Irshad, Joseph Leventhal, Mohammed Javeed Ansari, Paolo Cravedi, Lorenzo Gallon

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Frontiers in immunology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Belatacept in Kidney Transplantation: Reflecting on the Past, Shaping the Future.Transplant international : official journal of the European Society for Organ Transplantation · 2025
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Ibrahim TawhariDepartment of Medicine, Nephrology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States.
Patrick HallakDepartment of Medicine, Nephrology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States.
Sofia BinDepartment of Medicine, Nephrology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States.
Fatmah YamaniDepartment of Medicine, Nephrology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States.
Maria Safar-BoueriDepartment of Medicine, Nephrology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States.
Aazib IrshadDepartment of Medicine, Nephrology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States.
Joseph LeventhalDepartment of Medicine, Nephrology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States.
Mohammed Javeed AnsariDepartment of Medicine, Nephrology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States.
Paolo CravediDepartment of Medicine, Nephrology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States.
Lorenzo GallonDepartment of Medicine, Nephrology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States.
Northwestern University · USAzienda USL di Bologna · ITIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Belatacept (Bela) was developed to reduce nephrotoxicity and cardiovascular risk that are associated with the chronic use of Calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) in kidney transplant recipients. The use of Bela with early steroid withdrawal (ESW) and simultaneous CNI avoidance has not been formally evaluated. Methods: At 3 months post-transplant, stable kidney transplant recipients with ESW on Tacrolimus (Tac) + mycophenolate (MPA) were randomized 1:1:1 to: 1) Bela+MPA, 2) Bela+low-dose Tac (trough goal <5 ng/mL), or 3) continue Tac+MPA. All patients underwent surveillance graft biopsies at enrollment and then at 12, and 24 months post-transplant. Twenty-seven recipients were included; 9 underwent conversion to Bela+MPA, 8 to Bela+low-dose Tac and 10 continued Tac+MPA. Serial blood samples were collected for immune phenotyping and gene expression analyses. Results: The Bela+MPA arm was closed early due to high rate of biopsy proven acute rejection (BPAR). The incidence of BPAR was 4/9 in Bela+MPA, 0/8 in Bela+low dose Tac and 2/10 in Tac+MPA, P= 0.087. The Bela+low-dose Tac regimen was associated with +8.8 mL/min/1.73 m Conclusions: Our data indicate that, in steroid free regimens, low-dose Tac maintenance is needed to prevent rejection when patients are converted to Bela, at least when the maneuver is done early after transplant.

Indexed as

AbataceptCalcineurin InhibitorsImmunosuppressive AgentsKidney TransplantationCalcineurinCD28 AntigensCD8-Positive T-LymphocytesDrug SubstitutionHumansLeukocytes, MononuclearMycophenolic AcidSteroidsTacrolimusAbataceptCalcineurinCalcineurin InhibitorsCD28 AntigensImmunosuppressive AgentsMycophenolic AcidSteroidsTacrolimusbelataceptkidney transplantmycophenolate mofetirenal transplanttacrolimus

Identifiers

PMID36601111
PMCPMC9806416
OpenAlexW4312046737

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.