Intra-patient variability in tacrolimus trough concentrations and renal function decline in pediatric renal transplant recipients.
High intra-patient variability in TCL exposure is a risk factor for allograft loss and late acute rejection. We hypothesized that a higher intra-patient variability leads to a faster decline in GFR in pediatric renal transplant patients and that adolescents have a higher intra-patient variability due to poorer adherence. We included 69 children aged 3.5-18 yr who had undergone renal transplantation between April 1996 and May 2009 in two pediatric nephrology centers in the Netherlands. We analyzed TCL trough concentrations over a period of one yr and calculated TCL trough concentrations variability using VC. We investigated the correlation between the TCL trough concentrations variability and the decline in estimated GFR over four yr. The median intra-patient variability in TCL concentrations was 30.1% (range 8.6-77.6) and the mean GFR slope -3.8 mL/min/1.73 m(2) /yr. The VC correlated neither with the GFR slope, nor with the patients' age. However, children with late acute rejection had higher VC (p = 0.045). We were unable to provide evidence that a high variability in TCL exposure leads to a faster decline in renal function, although children with late acute rejection have a higher variability in TCL exposure. Adolescents do not have a higher intra-patient variability in TCL trough concentrations than younger children.
Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Erasmus MC - Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. a.prytula@erasmusmc.nl
Agnieszka A
AA
Prytula
Antonia H
AH
Bouts
Ron A A
RA
Mathot
Teun
T
van Gelder
Ludwig K
LK
Croes
Wim
W
Hop
Karlien
K
Cransberg
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005919:Glomerular Filtration Rate; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007223:Infant; D007668:Kidney / Q000502:physiology; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance; D051437:Renal Insufficiency / Q000628:therapy*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D016559:Tacrolimus