Presenter:

Gerold Thölking, MD
University Hospital Münster
Germany

The calcineurin inhibitor tacrolimus (Tac) is an integral part of the standard immunosuppressive regimen after renal transplantation (RTx). However, clinical management of Tac therapy can be challenging: Tac has a narrow therapeutic window and transplant recipients often show high intra- and interindividual variability. Therefore, RTx recipients are at risk of underexposure leading to rejection or overexposure causing. Dr. Thölking and his colleges introduced the concentration-to-dose ratio (C/D ratio), as a simple tool to estimate Tac metabolism. A low C/D ratio indicates fast Tac metabolism and is associated with a decreased renal function after RTx and liver transplantation.