title: Effect of ascites on tacrolimus disposition in a liver transplant recipient.
abstract: To examine the effects of ascites on tacrolimus disposition, the authors measured tacrolimus concentration in blood and ascitic fluid from a patient with a living related liver transplant recipient who required removal of 500 to 2400 mL ascitic fluid daily. Tacrolimus levels in ascitic fluid ranged from 0.07 to 0.29 ng/mL and in whole blood from 7.5 to 20.3 ng/mL. The tacrolimus concentration in ascitic fluid positively correlated with that in whole blood ( r = 0.878, P <0.0001). Because the amounts of tacrolimus excreted into the ascitic fluid corresponded to only 0.01% to 0.09% of the dose administered, the authors concluded that the effects of ascites on tacrolimus disposition were negligible even though large amounts of ascitic fluid were drained regularly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Tsukuba University Hospital, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Itagaki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hori
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tomita
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kakiuchi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Homma
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kohda
mesh_terms: D001201:Ascites / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D007223:Infant; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D016559:Tacrolimus