Pharmacologic treatment of transplant recipients infected with SARS-CoV-2: considerations regarding therapeutic drug monitoring and drug-drug interactions.

Link to article at PubMed

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Pharmacologic treatment of transplant recipients infected with SARS-CoV-2: considerations regarding therapeutic drug monitoring and drug-drug interactions.

Ther Drug Monit. 2020 Apr 15;:

Authors: Elens L, Langman LJ, Hesselink DA, Bergan S, Moes DJAR, Molinaro M, Venkataramanan R, Lemaitre F

Abstract
BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is a novel infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory distress (SARS)-corona virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Several therapeutic options are currently emerging but none with universal consensus or proven efficacy. Solid organ transplant recipients are perceived to be at increased risk of severe COVID-19 because of their immunosuppressed conditions due to chronic use of immunosuppressive drugs. It is therefore likely that solid organ transplant recipients will be treated with these experimental antivirals.
METHODS: This article is not intended to provide a systematic literature review on investigational treatments tested against COVID-19; rather, the authors aim to provide recommendations for therapeutic drug monitoring of immunosuppressive drugs in transplant recipients infected with SARS-CoV-2 based on a review of existing data in the literature.
RESULTS: Management of drug-drug interactions between investigational anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs and immunosuppressants is a complex task for the clinician. Adequate immunosuppression is necessary to prevent graft rejection while, if critically ill, the patient may benefit from pharmacotherapeutic interventions directed at limiting SARS-CoV-2 viral replication. Maintaining immunosuppressive drug concentrations within the desired therapeutic range requires a highly individualized approach that is complicated by the pandemic context and lack of hindsight.
CONCLUSIONS: With the present manuscript, the authors inform the clinician about the potential interactions of experimental COVID-19 treatments with immunosuppressive drugs used in transplantation. Recommendations regarding therapeutic drug monitoring and dose adjustments in the context of COVID-19 are provided.

PMID: 32304488 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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