Practical Laboratory Medicine (Aug 2023)

Monitoring tacrolimus toxicity following Paxlovid administration in a liver transplant patient

  • Robert D. Maynard,
  • Phillip Bates,
  • Nichole Korpi-Steiner

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 36
p. e00322

Abstract

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Maintaining therapeutic plasma tacrolimus concentrations is essential for mitigating potential solid organ transplant rejection and preventing toxic adverse side effects. While patients can benefit greatly from tacrolimus therapy, co-administration of drugs such as Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) place patients at serious risk for drug interactions and harm. Here we present a case of tacrolimus toxicity following Paxlovid administration in a liver transplant patient. Therapeutic drug monitoring was further complicated by a limited upper reportable threshold for tacrolimus testing and highlights the value of validating a higher limit to the clinical reportable range to improve tacrolimus monitoring and meet clinical needs in the setting of drug toxicity.

Keywords