Frequency of diabetes-related complications in renal allograft recipients prospectively randomized to cyclosporine or azathioprine

Uremic diabetic patients survive better after renal transplantation than on dialysis. They have, however, a higher incidence of peripheral vascular, cardiovascular, and ocular disease than do nondiabetic patients. Randomized trials show that transplanted diabetic patients have comparable patient and graft survival when immunosuppressed with either cyclosporine (CsA)/prednisone or with azathioprine (Aza)/prednisone/antilymphocyte globulin. The CsA-treated group of patients required treament for hypertension and hyperkalemia more often than did the Aza-treated group, however. These two recognized factors and perhaps other unknown factors may affect the rate of diabetic-related complications (DRC) and hence the degree of posttransplant long-term rehabilitation of diabetic patients. To study this possibility, the frequency of DRC was analyzed in patients prospectively randomized to either CsA or Aza.