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Updated: Jan 23, 2026

Robot-Assisted Kidney Transplantation
Published on: July 19, 2021
A case report: acute pancreatitis associated with tacrolimus in kidney transplantation
Junnan Xu1,2,3, Liang Xu1,2,3, Xing Wei1,2
1Organ Transplant Institute of People's Liberation Army, the 309th Hospital of People's Liberation Army, Beijing, China.
Background:
Tacrolimus has been widely used for immunosuppressive therapy in solid organ transplantation (SOT) and allo-geneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) over the past 2 decades. Pancreatitis caused by tacrolimus was rarely reported in kidney transplantation previously.
Case Presentation:
Here we presented a case of a 45-year-old male who underwent kidney transplantation and received immunosuppressive therapy of tacrolimus, on day + 67 after transplantation he developed acute pancreatitis with extremely high blood concentration of tacrolimus. We excluded other possible causes and speculated tacrolimus was the probable inducer of pancreatitis. After tacrolimus was discontinued and alternated with cyclosporine, he gradually recovered and was discharged home with no relapse.
Conclusion:
Tacrolimus can be a probable cause of pancreatitis after kidney transplantation. We recommended clinicians to be aware of the possibility of tacrolimus-induced pancreatitis during tacrolimus treatment.
Related Concept Videos
Acute Pancreatitis I: Introduction
Acute pancreatitis is characterized by rapid inflammation of the pancreas, often caused by factors like gallstone blockage or excessive alcohol consumption. Chronic pancreatitis, on the other hand, is a slow, progressive inflammation that may result from long-term alcohol abuse, obstructions in the pancreatic duct, or genetic factors.
The causes of acute pancreatitis include:
Kidney Transplant I: Introduction
Acute Kidney Injury I: Introduction
Acute Kidney Injury II: Pathophysiology
Kidney Transplant II: Surgical Procedure
Acute Pancreatitis II: Clinical Manifestations and Management

