Outcomes in Pediatric Heart Transplant Recipients Receiving Cellcept

Summary

The survival of children who have received heart transplants has greatly improved over the last ten years. One reason for this is better control over rejection. Rejection medications require a delicate balance of enough medicine to work without causing side effects. It is a goal to avoid both rejection and side effects from the anti-rejection medicines. Usually several medicines are used together to prevent rejection. One of these medicines is often Mycophenolic Acid or CellceptThis medicine has been used longer for adults than is has for children. More information is needed on using it for children. The dose is usually determined by the patient's weight or body surface area. There have been some early studies of the use of Cellcept, but none have proven a relationship between the blood level of the drug and how well it works. More also needs to be known about how this drug works with other anti-rejection drugs and how it works in boys and girls. This study will look more closely at proper dosing, how Cellcept works with other anti-rejection medications, side effects, and any differences in how this medicine works in boys and girls. All patients in the study will be receiving Cellcept and have blood levels of the drug drawn. Results of their usual treatment and testing will be recorded and evaluated for signs of rejection. All the information will be analyzed. Results of this study will be reported to transplant committees locally and nationally.

Timeline

Start

2003-01

Primary completion

—

Completion

2005-05

Publications

• Background Keck BM, Bennett LE, Rosendale J, Daily OP, Novick RJ, Hosenpud JD. Worldwide thoracic organ transplantation: a report from the UNOS/ISHLT International Registry for Thoracic Organ Transplantation. Clin Transpl. 1999:35-49.
• Background Laks H, Marelli D, Odim J, Fazio D. Heart transplantation in the young and elderly. Heart Fail Rev. 2001 Sep;6(3):221-6. doi: 10.1023/a:1011406022657.
• Background Sarris GE, Smith JA, Bernstein D, Griffin ML, Pitlick PT, Baum D, Billingham ME, Oyer PE, Stinson EB, Starnes VA, et al. Pediatric cardiac transplantation. The Stanford experience. Circulation. 1994 Nov;90(5 Pt 2):II51-5.
• Background Dipchand AI, Pietra B, McCrindle BW, Rosebrook-Bicknell HL, Boucek MM. Mycophenolic acid levels in pediatric heart transplant recipients receiving mycophenolate mofetil. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2001 Oct;20(10):1035-43. doi: 10.1016/s1053-2498(01)00305-9.
• Background Morissette P, Albert C, Busque S, St-Louis G, Vinet B. In vivo higher glucuronidation of mycophenolic acid in male than in female recipients of a cadaveric kidney allograft and under immunosuppressive therapy with mycophenolate mofetil. Ther Drug Monit. 2001 Oct;23(5):520-5. doi: 10.1097/00007691-200110000-00004.

Drugs

Indications

No indication recorded.