Once Daily Calcineurin Inhibitor Monotherapy in Pediatric Liver Transplantation

This report describes a group of pediatric liver transplant recipients who have undergone once daily calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) monotherapy at Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, between January 1, 2001 and November 30, 2008. We defined success as normal liver enzymes at 1 year after dose change, with normal enzymes throughout all follow-up. Patients who did not meet the set criteria or had lost an organ to chronic rejection were not considered for this therapeutic strategy. There were 147 patients in our organ transplant tracking record (OTTR) who were >= 5 years post liver transplant. Of these, 56 underwent reduced dose, once daily CNI monotherapy. Patients who met the set criteria were placed on once daily calcineurin inhibitor at half their previous dose. Fifty patients successfully achieved this dose change, while six patients failed at a mean of 3.7 +/- 3.2 months following the dosing change. The mean interval from transplant was significantly longer in those patients who were successful compared to those who failed dose change (p < 0.05). Importantly, there have been no graft losses. Reduced dose, once daily CNI monotherapy is safe in carefully selected recipients, with a longer interval post liver transplantation increasing the likelihood of success.