Expected and observed glomerular filtration rates in kidney transplant patients converted to once daily tacrolimus: 10 years of follow-up

The decline of allograft kidney function in the long term remains a significant issue in renal transplantation, with drug nephrotoxicity and cardiovascular complications as important risk factors. Our study aimed to evaluate the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) trend and metabolic cardiovascular risk factors over 10 years in a cohort of kidney transplant (KT) recipients converted from twice-daily (TD) tacrolimus (Tac) to once-daily (OD)-Tac. We enrolled 55 consecutive KT recipients who had been at the outpatient clinic between 2009 and 2011. Thirty-seven reached the 10-year follow-up. We compared the observed eGFR with the expected eGFR trend described in KT-recipients and monitored blood pressure and metabolic cardiovascular risk factors. The observed eGFR remained stable throughout the complete follow-up (P = .188). The observed decline of eGFR was significantly lower compared with the expected decline for KT patients (P < .001). The blood pressure was maintained within target values. The monitoring of plasma glucose levels demonstrated the stability of median values (P = .686), as well as cholesterol level (P = .250), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (P = .294), and triglycerides (P = .592) throughout the follow-up. The monitoring of tacrolimus plasma level demonstrated that median trough levels remained constant (median values 4.4-5.5 ng/mL) throughout the entire follow-up period (P = .149). We suggest that the reasonable control of metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease over long-term follow-up may significantly contribute to the preservation of eGFR compared with the decline expected in KT recipients.