| Literature DB >> 35137970 |
Justin C M Chua1, Peter F Mount1,2, Darren Lee1,3.
Abstract
Achieving therapeutic tacrolimus levels is an essential component of balancing immunosuppression in kidney transplantation. At our institution, the starting tacrolimus dose was reduced from .075 mg/kg BD (higher dose [HD]) to .050 mg/kg BD (lower dose [LD]), to better achieve our target level of 6-10 μg/L in the early posttransplant period. Kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) transplanted 1-year before (HD: n = 64) and after (LD: n = 63) the starting dose reduction were retrospectively compared. Achieved tacrolimus levels were significantly lower in the LD group during the first 14 days posttransplant, but not at day 21 or day 28. A higher proportion of LD KTRs achieved therapeutic levels (day 1-3: 36.1% vs. 18.8%; day 4-7: 50.8% vs. 40.6%, day 8-14: 83.6% vs. 71.7%), while the HD KTRs were more likely to have supratherapeutic levels. Tacrolimus dose was significantly lower on day 5 compared to day 0 in the HD group but similar in the LD group. Rates of delayed graft function, posttransplant diabetes, and treated rejection at 6 months and graft outcomes at 3 years were all similar. Lowering the starting tacrolimus dose increased the proportion of KTRs achieving therapeutic range and minimized dose changes early posttransplant without an impact on clinical outcomes.Entities:
Keywords: calcineurin inhibitor: tacrolimus; drug toxicity; immunosuppressant; kidney transplantation: living donor
Mesh:
Substances:
Year: 2022 PMID: 35137970 PMCID: PMC9286038 DOI: 10.1111/ctr.14606
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Clin Transplant ISSN: 0902-0063 Impact factor: 3.456
Baseline characteristics of kidney transplant recipients in higher (HD) versus lower (LD) dose groups
| Higher dose (HD) ( | Lower dose (LD) ( |
| |
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| Median age (years) | 51 (44–60) | 55 (45–64) | .27 |
| Female gender ( | 23 (36%) | 24 (38%) | .80 |
| Body mass index | 28.4 (24.6–31.9) | 27.9 (25.4–30.9) | .59 |
| Pretransplant diabetes ( | 11 (17%) | 13 (21%) | .62 |
|
| |||
| Donor type ( | |||
| Living | 17 (27%) | 21 (33%) | .40 |
| Deceased | 47 (73%) | 42 (67%) | |
| Deceased donor type ( | |||
| DBD | 32 (68%) | 26 (62%) | .54 |
| DCD | 15 (32%) | 16 (38%) | |
| Median age (years) | 55 (44–60) | 53 (45–62) | .74 |
| Total ischemic time (h) | 9 (6–11) | 8 (4–11) | .71 |
|
| |||
| ABO incompatible ( | 1 (1.6%) | 0 (0%) | .34 |
| Donor specific antibodies ( | 17 (27%) | 15 (24%) | .72 |
| Peak panel reactive antibody (%) | 0 (0–8) | 0 (0–3) | .81 |
| ≥80% | 5 (7.8%) | 7 (11.1%) | .53 |
| ≥95% | 3 (4.7%) | 3 (4.8%) | .98 |
| HLA mismatch ( | |||
| 0–2 | 19 (30%) | 23 (37%) | .26 |
| 3–4 | 20 (31%) | 24 (38%) | |
| 5–6 | 25 (39%) | 16 (25%) | |
| Zero DR mismatch | 16 (25%) | 19 (30%) | .52 |
| Repeat transplants | 7 (11%) | 6 (10%) | .79 |
|
| |||
| Plasmapheresis | 6 (9%) | 6 (10%) | .98 |
| Basiliximab induction | 64 (100%) | 64 (100%) | – |
| Prednisolone | 64 (100%) | 64 (100%) | – |
| Tacrolimus | 64 (100%) | 64 (100%) | – |
| Mycophenolate/azathioprine | 64 (100%)/0 (0%) | 62 (98%)/1 (2%) | .31 |
HD = higher starting dose group (.075 mg/kg BD), LD = lower starting dose group (.050 mg/kg BD). DBD, donation after brain death; DCD, donation after circulatory death; HLA, human leukocyte antigen.
FIGURE 1Achieved tacrolimus levels (μg/L) and the proportion achieving the targeted therapeutic range (6–10 μg/L) in HD versus LD groups. (A) Box plots: midline = median, box = 25th–75th percentile, error bars = minimum–maximum. *p < .001, **p = .003. The green shaded area demonstrates the targeted range of trough tacrolimus levels of 6–10 μg/L in the early posttransplant period. (B) The numbers demonstrate the percentage of individual patients in each group with tacrolimus levels (μg/L) being in the intended therapeutic range (tacrolimus level 6–10), supratherapeutic (tacrolimus level > 10), or subtherapeutic (tacrolimus level < 6). HD = higher starting dose regimen (.075 mg/kg BD), LD = lower starting dose regimen (.05 mg/kg BD). Incomplete data due to KTRs being transferred back to their parent hospitals excluded from analysis (day 8–14: n = 4 for HD, n = 8 for LD; day 21: n = 5 for HD, n = 9 for LD; day 28: n = 5 for HD, n = 10 for LD). For the time intervals of day 1–3, day 4–7, and day 8–14, the mean of measured tacrolimus levels from each individual KTR during each interval was used for analysis. HD, higher dose; LD, lower dose; KTR, kidney transplant recipient
FIGURE 2Tacrolimus dose from day 0 to day 5 in HD versus LD groups. Tacrolimus dose expressed as twice daily dose (mg BD). Density plots (midline long dashed line = median; dotted lines = 25th and 75th percentiles). HD day 0: 6.0 (5.0–6.6) mg versus HD day 5: 4.5 (4.0–5.6) mg (p < .0001), LD day 0: 4.0 (3.5–4.5) mg versus LD day 5: 4.0 (3.3–4.5) mg (p = .90) (Dunn's multiple comparison test); Kruskal–Wallis test (<.0001). HD, higher dose; LD, lower dose
Tacrolimus and mycophenolate daily doses early posttransplant in higher (HD) versus lower (LD) dose groups
| Higher dose ( | Lower dose ( |
| |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tacrolimus daily dose (mg) | |||
| Day 0 | 12.0 (10.0–13.3) | 8.0 (7.0–9.0) | <.0001 |
| Day 2 | 10.0 (8.0–12.0) | 8.0 (6.0–8.0) | .0003 |
| Day 5 | 9.0 (8.0–11.3) | 8.0 (6.5–9.0) | .0019 |
| Month 1 | 7.0 (5.0–10.0) | 6.0 (5.0–10.0) | .93 |
| Month 2 | 5.0 (3.9–7.0) | 5.3 (4.0–8.0) | .30 |
| Month 3 | 4.0 (3.0–6.0) | 4.0 (3.0–7.0) | .34 |
| Mycophenolate daily dose (mg) | |||
| Month 3 | 2000 (1500–2000) | 1750 (1500–2000) | .06 |
| 0–1250 mg ( | 7 (11%) | 14 (23%) | .13 |
| 1500–1750 mg | 15 (23%) | 17 (27%) | |
| 2000 mg | 42 (66%) | 31 (50%) |
aLD: n = 1 on azathioprine instead of mycophenolate from day 0.
Clinical outcomes in higher (HD) versus lower (LD) dose groups
|
Higher dose ( |
Lower dose ( |
| |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delayed graft function | 22 (47%) | 20 (48%) | .94 |
| CRR2 | .39 (.24–.54) | .42 (.26–.58) | .36 |
| Treated rejection at 6 months | |||
| Time of diagnosis posttransplant (days) | 8 (7–10) | 10 (7–71) | .32 |
| Total ( | 15 (25%) | 14 (26%) | .90 |
| Borderline TCMR excluded | 9 (15%) | 11 (21%) | .45 |
| Rejection types ( | |||
| Borderline | 6 (10%) | 3 (6%) | .15 |
| TCMR | 1 (2%) | 7 (13%) | |
| ‐ 1A | 1 (2%) | 1 (2%) | |
| ‐ 1B | 0 (0%) | 4 (8%) | |
| ‐ 2A | 0 (0%) | 2 (4%) | |
| AbMR | 6 (10%) | 3 (6%) | |
| Mixed | 2 (3%) | 1 (2%) | |
| ‐ 1A | 2 (3%) | 0 (0%) | |
| ‐ 1B | 0 (0%) | 1 (2%) | |
| No rejection | 49 (75%) | 39 (74%) | |
| Infection at 12 months ( | |||
| CMV viremia | 11 (19%) | 16 (30%) | .18 |
| BK viremia | 6 (11%) | 11 (21%) | .14 |
| Bacteremia | 7 (12%) | 6 (11%) | .88 |
| Diabetes at 6 months ( | |||
| Excluding pretransplant diabetes | 12 (20%) | 8 (15%) | .42 |
| Total | 23 (39%) | 21 (38%) | .93 |
| eGFR (mL/min/1.73 m2) | |||
| 3 months | 55 (46–66) | 54 (45–62) | .48 |
| 1 year | 54 (46–69) | 55 (46–63) | .31 |
| 3 years | 58 (45–73) | 54 (43–65) | .14 |
| ≥30% decline between 1 and 3 years ( | 7 (11%) | 7 (11%) | .98 |
| Death at 3 years ( | 1 (2%) | 1 (2%) | .99 |
| Graft failure (death censored) at 3 years ( | 2 (3%) | 2 (3%) | .99 |
AbMR, antibody mediated rejection; CMV, cytomegalovirus; CRR2, creatinine‐reduction‐ratio between day 1 and 2 posttransplant; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; KTR, kidney transplant recipient; TCMR, T cell mediated rejection.
Living donors excluded: n = 17 for HD, n = 21 for LD.
CRR2 = creatinine‐reduction‐ratio between day 1 and 2 posttransplant; KTRs with delayed graft function were excluded (n = 22 for HD, n = 20 for LD).
Incomplete data due to KTRs being transferred back to their parent hospitals, excluded from analysis: treated rejection: n = 5 for HD, n = 10 for LD.
Incomplete data due to KTRs being transferred back to their parent hospitals, excluded from analysis: infection: n = 7 for HD, n = 10 for LD.
Incomplete data due to KTRs being transferred back to their parent hospitals, excluded from analysisi: dabetes: n = 5 for HD, n = 8 for LD.
Death and graft failure included.