Two-year follow-up study of the efficacy and safety of FK 506 in kidney transplant patients

Abstract We conducted a 2-year follow-up study of the efficacy and safety of FK 506 in 104 kidney transplant patients at 32 sites in Japan. The initial daily oral dose of FK 506 was 0.3 mg/kg, which was gradually reduced to 0.15 mg/kg by month 10 and remained stable thereafter. The mean trough level of FK 506 in whole blood and the mean serum creatinine level in year 2 were 7.9 ng/ml and 1.9 mg/dl, respectively. Patient and graft survival rates for all patients were 97% and 92%, respectively. Forty-ix patients (44%) experienced rejection episodes, and 84% of these episodes occurred within 3 months after transplantation. The principal adverse reactions to FK 506 therapy were hyperglycaemia, renal dysfunction and hyperkalaemia. Most of these events were dose-dependent, and disappeared or ameliorated following reduction of the FK 506 dose.