TACROCORD 0.5 CAPSULES 0.5MG

GOLDPLUS UNIVERSAL PTE LTD

GOLDPLUS UNIVERSAL PTE LTD

Therapeutic

Prescription Only

CAPSULE

**DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION** Only physicians experienced in immunosuppressive therapy and the management of organ transplant patients should prescribe Tacrolimus. Patients receiving the drug should be managed in facilities equipped and staffed with adequate laboratory and supportive medical resourced. The physician responsible for maintenance therapy should have complete information requisite for the follow up of the patient. The dosage recommendations given below for oral and intravenous administration are intended to act as a guideline. Tacrolimus doses should be adjusted according to individual patient requirements. Dosing should commence orally, if necessary via an intranasal gastric tube. If the clinical condition of the patient does not allow oral therapy, initial intravenous dosing may be necessary. **Primary Immunosuppression Dose Levels** Adults Liver and kidney transplantation: Oral tacrolimus therapy should commence at 0.10 – 0.20 mg/kg/day for liver transplantation and at 0.15 – 0.30 mg/kg/day for kidney transplantation administered as two divided doses. Administration should start approximately 6 hours after the completion of liver transplant surgery and within 24 hours after completion of kidney transplant surgery. If clinical condition of the patient does not allow oral dosing, then intravenous tacrolimus therapy should be initiated as a continuous 24 hours infusion at 0.01 to 0.05 mg/kg for liver transplant and 0.05 to 0.10 mg/kg for kidney transplant. **Primary Immunosuppression Dose Levels** Paediatric Patients Paediatric patients generally require doses 1.5 to 2 times higher than the recommended adult doses to achieve the same blood levels. Liver and kidney transplantation: An initial dose of 0.3 mg/kg/day for liver and kidney transplantation should be administered in two divided doses. If the dose cannot be given orally, an initial intravenous dose of 0.05 mg/kg/day for the liver transplantation or 0.1 mg/kg/day for kidney transplantation should be administered as a continuous 24 hours infusion. **Maintenance Therapy Dose Levels** It is necessary to continue immunosuppression with oral Tacrolimus to maintain graft survival. Dose can frequently be reduced during maintenance therapy. Dosing should be primarily based on clinical assessments of rejection and tolerability of the patient. If progression of disease occurs (e.g. signs of acute rejection) alteration of the immunosuppressive regimen should be considered. Increase the amount of corticosteroids, introduction of short courses of mono/polyclonal antibodies and increase in the dose of Tacrolimus have been used to manage rejection episodes. If signs of toxicity (e.g. pronounced adverse event) are noted, the dose of Tacrolimus should be reduced. When Tacrolimus is administered in combination with a corticosteroid these may often be reduced and in rare cases the treatment has continued as monotherapy. **Therapy Dose Levels for Liver and Kidney Allograft Rejection Resistant to Conventional** Immunosuppressive Regimens In patients experiencing rejections episodes which are unresponsive to conventional immunosuppressive therapy, Tacrolimus treatment should begin with the initial dose recommended for primary immunosuppression in that particular allograft. Tacrolimus should be initiated after considering cyclosporin blood concentrations and the clinical condition of the patient. In practice, Tacrolimus therapy has been initiated 12–24 hours after discontinuation of cyclosporin. Monitoring of cyclosporin blood levels should be continued following conversion as the clearance of cyclosporin may be affected. **Duration of dosing** For oral dosing the capsules normally have to be taken continuously to suppress graft rejection and no limit for therapy duration can be given. Patients should be converted from intravenous to oral medication as soon as individual circumstances permit. Intravenous therapy should not be continued for more than 7 days. **Mode of Intake** Capsules should generally be administered on an empty stomach or at least 1 hour before or 2 to 3 hours after a meal, to achieve maximal absorption (See Pharmacokinetic properties – _please refer to the Product Insert/Patient Information Leaflet published on HSA for the full drug information_). **Monitoring of Whole Blood Concentrations** Drug level monitoring is recommended during the early post-transplantation period, following dose adjustment of Tacrolimus therapy after switching from another immunosuppressive regimen or following co-administration of drugs which are likely to lead to a drug interaction. Trough blood levels of Tacrolimus should also be monitored periodically during maintenance therapy. The frequency of blood level monitoring should be based on clinical needs. As tacrolimus has a long half-life, it can take several days for adjustments in Tacrolimus dosing to be reflected in changes in blood levels. **Patient with Liver Impairment** A dose reduction is necessary. **Patient with Renal Impairment** Careful monitoring of renal function including serial creatinine estimations, calculations of creatinine clearance and monitoring urine output is recommended. **Elderly Patients** There is no evidence currently available to indicate that dosing should be adjusted in older people. Note: The information given here is limited. For further information, consult your doctor or pharmacist.