Improved attainment of NKF classified lipid target levels after conversion from cyclosporine to tacrolimus in renal graft recipients.

In an open, prospective, multicenter study, stable renal graft recipients were converted to tacrolimus because of cyclosporine-related side effects. Seventy-five patients were switched primarily because of hyperlipidemia. After the switch to tacrolimus, mean total cholesterol was reduced by 15% at month 6. One hundred seventy-seven additional patients were switched primarily for other indications: hypertrichosis, gingival hyperplasia, and arterial hypertension, and these symptoms also improved after the switch. In this analysis, serum lipid levels were categorized according to a modified standard classification of lipid parameters for renal transplant patients (published by the NKF Work Group). The aim was to estimate the proportion of patients reaching normal lipid levels after the conversion to tacrolimus therapy. In patients with primary indication hyperlipidemia, the proportion with normal cholesterol levels increased significantly from 5.6% at baseline to 37.5% at month 6 (P < .05). For LDL cholesterol, the increase was from 54.1% at baseline to 64.9% at month 6, and for triglycerides the improvement was from 25.4% to 33.8%. HDL cholesterol levels remained stable. Similar changes of lipid parameters were also observed in the subgroups of patients converted to tacrolimus primarily because of other indications. After conversion from cyclosporine to tacrolimus, a significantly higher proportion of stable renal graft recipients reached normal total cholesterol levels. For LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, a trend for normalization was observed. Thus, the improvement of serum lipid levels resulted for many patients in a change to a better level class and improved or normalized their cardiovascular risk parameters.