Pharmacokinetics before and after the conversion
Pharmacokinetic findings of this study are summarized in Table 3. Mean
whole blood concentrations of tacrolimus before and after the conversion
are depicted in Figure 3. No statistically significant differences were
found in the area under the curve (AUC), Cmin, Cmax, dose-adjusted Cmin,
dose-adjusted Cmax, dose-adjusted AUC, dose/kg-adjusted Cmin,
dose/kg-adjusted Cmax, and dose/kg-adjusted AUC for the between the
twice-daily tacrolimus and once-daily tacrolimus groups. The median dose
of tacrolimus was higher in the expressor group than in the
non-expressor group, while median dose/weight, Cmax in twice-daily
tacrolimus/dose, AUC in twice-daily tacrolimus, and dose/kg-adjusted
Cmax in twice-daily tacrolimus in the expressors were significantly
lower than in the non-expressors (Table 3). Median AUC values for the
twice-daily tacrolimus and once-daily tacrolimus were higher in the
expressor group than in the non-expressor group, but the differences
were not significant. In the expressor group, the Cmax for once-daily
tacrolimus was higher than the Cmax for twice-daily tacrolimus, whereas
an inverse relationship was observed in the non-expressor group. In line
with these findings, significant correlations were found between the
Cmin and AUC for once-daily tacrolimus in the non-expressor group, and
between the Cmax and AUC for once-daily tacrolimus in the expressor
group (Figure 4).