Successful Treatment of Refractory Acute Humoral Allograft Rejection with Single Dose Rituximab

Acute humoral rejection (AHR) is a rare event; however it can potentially lead to graft loss in up 40% of cases after 1 year of transplantation. A number of features like re-transplantation, ABO incompatibility and positive lymphocyte cross-match portend a high risk for AHR. We performed a retransplantation to a 23-year-old female patient who had lost her fi rst allograft due to polyomavirus nephropathy. After the second transplantation, she developed AHR that was confi rmed by allograft biopsy. We instituted steroid pulses for three days, alternate-day thymoglobulin, plasmapheresis and intravenous immunoglobulin. Despite this therapy, renal function did not improve; therefore as a last resort we administered singledose rituximab. Later on the course her urine output increased and kidney function recovered. In conclusion, rituximab can be tried as a last line of therapy in refractory AHR episodes.