title: High initial blood levels of tacrolimus in overweight renal transplant recipients.
abstract: For the purpose of both efficacy and safety, exposure to tacrolimus and other immunosuppressive drugs must be monitored, since initial levels influence the development of acute rejection episodes, nephrotoxicity, and posttransplantation diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for developing high initial tacrolimus blood levels. We analyzed clinical and biochemical parameters of 85 renal transplant recipients receiving tacrolimus-based immunosuppressive therapy by stratifying into subgroups of patients who displayed first tacrolimus concentrations higher and lower than 15 ng/mL. Patients with a first level of tacrolimus higher than 15 ng/mL were older (52 +/- 13 vs 40 +/- 12 years, P < .05) and had a larger body mass index (27 +/- 4 vs 23 +/- 3 kg/m2, P < .05) than patients with lower levels, despite receiving a lower weight-adjusted cumulative steroid dose (8.2 +/- 2.2 vs 9.3 +/- 2.5 mg/kg, P < .05). Upon logistic regression, age (RR 1.047, 95% CI 1.007 to 1.08, P = .021) and body mass index (RR 1.176, 95% CI 1.009 to 1.371, P = .036) remained significant risk factors for high initial blood levels of tacrolimus. As these subgroups of patients are most prone to develop posttransplantation glycemic disorders, attention must be paid to avoid high tacrolimus blood levels by diminishing initial tacrolimus doses or estimating them from ideal body weight.
authors.affiliation: Service of Nephrology, Hospital Valdecilla, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain. nefrce@humv.es
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rodrigo
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: de Cos
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Piñera
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fernández-Fresnedo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Palomar
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pérez-Ceballos
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Cotorruelo
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Zubimendi
authors.forename: A L M
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: de Francisco
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arias
mesh_terms: D019540:Area Under Curve; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000097:blood; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000502:physiology*; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D003404:Creatinine; D016559:Tacrolimus