A case report: acute pancreatitis associated with tacrolimus in kidney transplantation

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.