Clinical experience with once-daily tacrolimus in de novo kidney transplant recipients from living donors in Japan: 1-year follow up.
BACKGROUND
We assessed our clinical experience with de novo kidney transplant recipients from living donors who received once-daily tacrolimus (OD TAC). In addition, we investigated tacrolimus pharmacokinetics and compared the dose of tacrolimus in de novo kidney transplant patients treated with OD TAC or twice-daily tacrolimus (BD TAC).


METHODS
Ten patients (3 ABO incompatible, 2 preemptive), who had received a living donor kidney transplant at our hospital since February, 2009, received OD TAC with mycophenolate mofetil, methylprednisolone, and basiliximab. OD TAC doses were adjusted to maintain tacrolimus trough levels in the range of 9-12 ng/mL. We assessed clinical and pharmacokinetic profiles. We compared average total daily dose of tacrolimus between the OD TAC and BD TAC groups.


RESULTS
Patient survival and graft survival rates were 100% at 15.7 months. Acute rejection was not found clinically. The protocol biopsies (week 3 and month 3) did not reveal biopsy-proven acute rejection, either. No calcineurin inhibitor toxicity occurred. Doses in the OD TAC and BD TAC groups at week 3 posttransplant were 0.308 mg/kg/day and 0.149 mg/kg/day, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
OD TAC appears to have efficacy and safety equivalent to that of BD TAC. However, a larger dose of OD TAC compared to that of BD TAC may be required during the early period after kidney transplantation.
Department of Urology, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
Kenichiro
K
Ishida
Department of Urology, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
Shinichi
S
Ito
Department of Urology, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
Tomohiro
T
Tsuchiya
Department of Pharmacy, Gifu University Hospital, Gifu, Japan.
Yoshinori
Y
Imanishi
Department of Urology, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.
Takashi
T
Deguchi
kidney transplantation; once–daily tacrolimus; twice–daily tacrolimus