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. 2021 Mar 17;55(1):62-67.
doi: 10.14744/SEMB.2020.71235. eCollection 2021.

A Comparative Analysis of Once-daily and Twice-daily Formulation of Tacrolimus in De Novo Kidney Transplant Recipients

Murat Ferhat Ferhatoglu  1 , Abdulcabbar Kartal  1 , Taner Kivilcim  1 , Ali Ilker Filiz  1 , Gursel Yildiz  2 , Alp Gurkan  1
Affiliations

A Comparative Analysis of Once-daily and Twice-daily Formulation of Tacrolimus in De Novo Kidney Transplant Recipients

Murat Ferhat Ferhatoglu et al. Sisli Etfal Hastan Tip Bul. .

Abstract

Objectives: We aimed to compare the once-daily and twice-daily formulation of tacrolimus concerning the efficiency and effects on graft function in de novo kidney transplant patients.

Methods: Twenty once-daily (TAC-OD) and twenty twice-daily (TAC-BID) tacrolimus administrated de novo kidney recipients who had received initial immunosuppressive therapy according to protocols at our institution (0.2 mg/kg of tacrolimus combined with 1000 milligrams of steroid taper plus 720 mg of mycophenolate and with 2.5mg/kg anti-thymocyte globulin) assessed concerning demographics, drug doses and blood concentration, and graft function.

Results: The mean tacrolimus blood concentration measurements were higher in the TAC-OD group in the first sixty days after transplantation, and the TAC-OD group showed more blood concentration overshoots/fluctuations in the first 30 days of the treatment. The initial drug dose was significantly higher in the TAC-OD group than the TAC-BID group (p=0.04). There was no meaningful difference among groups according to graft function (creatinine measurements) (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Between de novo kidney recipients, the new TAC-OD formulation presents a similar short-term efficacy profile as TAC-BID. However, a higher daily dosage of TAC-OD is needed to achieve similar blood concentrations in the early postoperative period.

Keywords: Kidney transplantation; immunosuppression; prolonged-release tacrolimus; tacrolimus.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Tacrolimus levels among kidney recipients using once-daily and twice-daily tacrolimus.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Therapeutic blood concentration monitoring of once-daily tacrolimus (Red dots indicates the expected therapeutic range of tacrolimus level (8-12 ng/ml) in our clinic).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Therapeutic blood concentration monitoring of twice-daily tacrolimus (Red dots indicates the expected therapeutic range of tacrolimus level (8-12 ng/ml) in our clinic).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Tacrolimus doses among kidney recipients using once-daily and twice-daily tacrolimus.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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