Conversion from Sandimmune to Neoral in Organ Transplant Recipients

Abstract

Journal of Transplant Coordination, Vol. 8, Number 4, December 1998 Pharmacokinetic parameters that are particularly important for cyclosporine include Cmax, tmax, Cmin, and area under the curve (AUC). Cmax represents the peak or maximum concentration of a drug, and tmax is the time needed to reach the maximum concentration. Conversely, Cmin is the minimum drug concentration or trough. Area under the curve is the area under the concentration-versus-time curve, reflecting the total drug exposure (bioavailability) over the dosing interval or duration of therapy. An important clinical mandate is that drugs must be delivered to target tissues in concentrations high enough to be therapeutic but low enough to avoid toxicity.2 The term “therapeutic range” refers to the range of drug concentrations in the blood in which the likelihood of the desired clinical response is relatively high and the risk of unacceptable toxicity is relatively low.1 It is typically a population mean, and there may be great individual differences in patient response within this range. Cyclosporine, like other immunosuppressants, has a relatively narrow therapeutic range.3 Conversion from Sandimmune to Neoral in organ transplant recipients