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).