Tacrolimus intra-patient variability in pediatric liver transplantation

Objective To study tacrolimus intra-patient variability (Tac-IPV) after liver transplantation in children and the influence on prognosis of transplantation. Methods A total of 392 pediatric liver transplant recipients were included in this single-center retrospective study. All children were treated with Tac-based immunosuppressive therapy postoperatively. Tac-IPV was calculated using both coefficient of variation (CV) and Tac variability score (TVS) methods. According to both follow-up and biopsy results, the difference in IPV was analyzed between complication group and normal recovery group. The influence of IPV on postoperative complications after transplantation were analyzed using two calculation methods. Results There were 175 males and 217 females with(24.73±36.58) months of age when transplantation included in this study. After pediatric liver transplantation, the median Tac-CV was 0.386 3, 0.317 0, and 0.291 3 in the first three years respectively, and 0.296 1 in 4-5 years. There was no significant d