0 preventing the immune system from reacting to antigens, for example in order to prevent transplanted organs from being rejected:
While immunosuppressive drugs can help prevent rejection of transplanted tissues or organs, they can also give rise to infections.
We excluded samples from individuals known to have an immunosuppressive or acute infectious disease and those from individuals who had recently undergone a blood transfusion.
Sera from individuals known to be affected by immunosuppressive conditions or by an acute infection or to have recently undergone blood transfusion were excluded.
Overall, 9 % of cases took prescription antibiotics, 3 % laxatives, 16 % antacids, and 1 % immunosuppressive agents in the previous 28 days.
For example, it is reasonable to continue and monitor immunosuppressive therapy while withholding invasive diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, antibiotics, pressor, intubation, and cardiac resuscitation.
Three renal allograft recipients on immunosuppressive therapy had cutaneous mucormycosis, with extension of infection into the transplanted kidney in one of them.
Other immunosuppressive agents such as azathioprine are frequently used.
The future development of drugs or biological agents that inhibit adhesion molecule function might add t o the armamentarium of immunosuppressive therapy.
Perhaps other immunosuppressive agents would also be effective.
