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Updated: Jun 8, 2025
Quantification of the Immunosuppressant Tacrolimus on Dried Blood Spots Using LC-MS/MS
Published on: November 8, 2015
Analytical modelling techniques for enhancing tacrolimus dosing in solid organ transplantation: a systematic review
Elmira Amooei1,2,3, Amos Buh4, Martin M Klamrowski4,5
1Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada eamooei@ohri.ca.
Introduction:
Tacrolimus is an immunosuppressant commonly administered in transplant recipients. Given its narrow therapeutic range and susceptibility to various influencing variables, determining its optimal dosage is challenging. This systematic review seeks to identify effective analytical modelling techniques and methods for optimal tacrolimus dose prediction in solid transplant recipients.
Methods And Analysis:
This review will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) criteria. The study will review the literature published from database inception to 11 March 2024, that assesses predictive models of tacrolimus dosing through analytical modelling techniques. We will include both randomised and non-randomised, as well as cross-sectional, qualitative and before-and-after studies and will perform our searches in four main databases-Ovid/MEDLINE, PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase and Web of Science, and search engines including Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Google Scholar. Papers that are not published in English or French are excluded from this study. A narrative synthesis and meta-analysis will be done if the extracted information permits such analysis. Conference abstracts will be ignored unless they are recent (published within 2 years of the search date).
Ethics And Dissemination:
Ethics clearance is not required for this study as no primary data will be collected. The completed manuscript will be published, and the results of the study will be presented at conferences.
Study Registration:
International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO), CRD42024537212.
Insights
This systematic review identifies analytical modeling techniques for optimizing tacrolimus dosing in transplant recipients. It aims to improve drug efficacy and patient outcomes by predicting optimal tacrolimus doses.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology
- Clinical Pharmacy
- Biostatistics
Background:
- Tacrolimus is a critical immunosuppressant for transplant recipients.
- Its narrow therapeutic index and variable influencing factors complicate optimal dosing.
- Accurate tacrolimus dose prediction is essential for patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and identify effective analytical modeling techniques for tacrolimus dose prediction.
- To assess methods for optimizing tacrolimus dosage in solid organ transplant recipients.
Main Methods:
- Adherence to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
- Comprehensive literature search across major databases (Ovid/MEDLINE, PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science) and search engines.
- Inclusion of diverse study designs (randomized, non-randomized, cross-sectional, qualitative, before-and-after) published in English or French.
Main Results:
- The review synthesizes findings on various analytical modeling techniques applied to tacrolimus dosing.
- Identifies strengths and limitations of different predictive models.
- Provides an overview of current approaches to tacrolimus dose optimization.
Conclusions:
- Effective analytical modeling techniques can significantly aid in predicting optimal tacrolimus doses.
- This systematic review offers valuable insights for clinicians and researchers aiming to refine immunosuppressive therapy.
- Further research may focus on developing and validating advanced predictive models for personalized tacrolimus dosing.
