Management of Living Donor Liver Transplant Patients Using Twice-Daily 4-Hour Intravenous Cyclosporine Therapy

Cyclosporine A-based immunotherapy in adult living donor liver transplantation: accurate and improved therapeutic drug monitoring by 4-hr intravenous infusion

BACKGROUND

A paucity of data exists for evaluating therapeutic drug monitoring in association with clinical outcomes of cyclosporine A (CYA) treatment in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT).

METHODS

A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted on 50 consecutive adult patients who underwent LDLT between 2001 and 2009 to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of 4-hr continuous intravenous infusion of CYA-based immunotherapy (4-hr CYA-IV, n=27) and compare the pharmacokinetic profile and short-term prognoses with an oral microemulsion formulation of CYA (CYA-ME, n=23).

RESULTS

All patients in the 4-hr CYA-IV group reached target CYA peak by day 3 compared with only 22% in the CYA-ME group (P<0.001). Adjustability to achieve the target range was easier in the 4-hr CYA-IV group compared with the CYA-ME group (P=0.017). Acute cellular rejection rate was lower in the 4-hr CYA-IV group (0%) compared with the CYA-ME group (17%, P=0.038). A subset analysis of the CYA-ME group revealed that CYA exposure was affected by external bile output (P=0.006). Patients in the CYA-ME group showed increased risk of switch to tacrolimus (35%) compared with the 4-hr CYA-IV group (7%, P=0.030). Toxicities and mortality rates were equivalent. The optimal initial dose of oral CYA at conversion from the 4-hr CYA-IV was considered to be 3-fold greater than that of the intravenous dose.

CONCLUSIONS

In LDLT, our 4-hr CYA-IV immunosuppression protocol was superior to CYA-ME oral dosing and allowed accurate therapeutic drug monitoring with excellent patient compliance.

Long-term outcome of living related renal transplantation in a patient with short bowel syndrome

Short-bowel syndrome (SBS) is defined as the malabsorptive state that occurs after extensive resection of the small intestine. In patients with SBS, oral administration of drugs usually becomes difficult because of the severity of intestinal failure. We describe a successful living related renal transplantation (LRRTx) in an 18-year-old male with SBS. Shortly after birth, the patient developed necrotizing enterocolitis requiring massive resection of the small intestine, which resulted in SBS. At seven years of age, the patient developed proteinuria and was diagnosed as focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). His kidney function was gradually deteriorated toward the end-stage renal failure. The patient received LRRTx at age of 18 years. To evaluate the absorption capacity of the patient, we investigated pharmacokinetics of calcineurine inhibitors (tacrolimus and cyclosporine). The drug concentration, which is sufficient to provide effective immunosuppression, was achieved with cyclosporine, but not with tacrolimus. The patient therefore received a triple immunosuppressive therapy with oral cyclosporine, methyl-prednisolone and mycophenolate mofetil. To prevent both recurrent FSGS and rejection, we repeatedly analyzed the trough level and the pharmacokinetics of cyclosporine after LRRTx. The patient was successfully treated with oral immunosuppression for over 5 years, without hemodialysis. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing the long-term outcome of LRRTx treated with oral cyclosporine in a patient with SBS.