Tacrolimus is a potent immunosuppressive agent. It has been reported to have superior immunosuppressive efficacy when compared with the standard formulation of cyclosporine (CyA), 1 based on its ability to rescue patients with failing allografts under CyA-based therapy, 2,3 lower rejection rates when used as a primary immunosuppressive agent, 4,5 and longer projected half-life. 6 However, there have been reports of an increased incidence of posttransplant diabetes (PTDM) under tacrolimus-based therapy. 4,5 We have reported on the reversibility of tacrolimus-induced PTDM in our own renal transplant patients. 7,8 In this article, we present an illustrative case demonstrating the reversibility of PTDM and review both the published and unpublished literature. The data suggest that the initial incidence of PTDM in the renal transplant population may be higher under tacrolimus than under CyA-based therapy, but the final incidence is comparable. 9-11
ILLUSTRATIVE CASEThe patient was a 64-year old black female with end-stage renal disease secondary to hypertension, who received a kidney from her son. The allograft functioned immediately, and she never experienced rejection. Her serum creatinine, tacrolimus dosages and levels, prednisone dosages, fasting blood glucose levels, and insulin requirements are shown in Table 1. Basically, she was normoglycemic until 13 weeks after transplantation, when her fasting blood glucose level was 280 mg/dL. One week later, it was 555 mg/dL, and she was admitted to the hospital and started on insulin. As her tacrolimus and steroid dosages were tapered, her blood sugars normalized, and her insulin was tapered off by 26 weeks after transplantation. She continues to have normal renal function 1.5 years after transplantation, with a serum creatinine of 1.0 mg/dL, on tacrolimus 1 mg orally twice per day and no prednisone. Her tacrolimus level is 8.7 ng/mL, and her fasting blood glucose is 140 mg/dL.
Review of the LiteratureThe initial and final incidences of PTDM in various studies of tacrolimus in renal transplantation are summarized in Table 2. The initial incidence ranged from 6% to 28.3%. and the final incidence ranged from 1.4% to 12.6%, with a reversibility of 37% to 83%. 1,4,5,[12][13][14][15] Subgroup analysis was performed in only one study, the American Phase III Multicenter Trial. It showed a higher incidence of PTDM in African American than in Caucasian recipients, and an association in all patients with higher tacrolimus levels and steroid doses. 4,5 Address reprint requests to Ron Shapiro, MD, 4th Floor Falk,