A case of tacrolimus nephrotoxicity appearing in a second renal transplantation patient

Oka K, Moriyama T, Imai E, Kyo M, Toki K, Tanaka T, Hori M, Kokado Y, Okuyama A, Takahara S. A case of tacrolimus toxicity appearing in a second renal transplantation patient. Clin Transplantation 2001: 15 (Supplement 5): 30–34. ©Munksgaard, 2001
We experienced a case of a second renal trans- plantation patient. With the use of cyclosporin, he lost his first graft because of chronic rejection; with the use of tacrolimus, his second graft suffered from drug nephrotox- icity. On his second renal transplantation, his graft function deteriorated and required haemodialysis with the use of tacrolimus. Repeated biopsies did not reveal the typical characteristics of acute tacrolimus nephrotoxicity and acute rejection. His tacrolimus trough level was not high during the clinical course; however, by reducing tacrolimus dosage, his graft function eventually recovered to mild renal dys- function. This observation was helpful for clinical diagnosis of the functional toxicity of tacrolimus. The case is interest- ing in considering the functional toxicity of tacrolimus and the difference between tacrolimus and cyclosporin in terms of immunosuppressive and nephrotoxic actions.