Association Between Blood and Lymphocyte Levels of Cyclosporin A and Infectious Complications in Renal Transplant Patients

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate a potential association between whole blood and lymphocyte Cyclosporin A (CyA) levels and the occurrence and frequency of infectious complications in kidney transplant patients. METHODS: The study involves 130 kidney transplant recipients who received CyA in addition to Mycophenolate Mofetil and steroids. CyA whole blood trough and maximum level (CyA BL(0) and CyA BLm) as well as the corresponding levels in the lymphocytes (CyA L(0) and CyA Lm) were measured for 6 months post-transplantation. RESULTS: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) as well as urinary tract infections (UTIs) were the most commonly diagnosed with an incidence of 24.6% and 26.2%, respectively. Only CyA L(0) showed a significant association with CMV infection occurrence (adjusted OR = 1.051, 95% CI .997–1.025, P-value 0.046). A positive linear correlation was found between CyA BL(0), CyA BLm and CyA Lm and the number of CMV episodes per patient. CONCLUSION: We showed an association between the CMV infections occurrence and the trough lymphocyte level of CyA (CyA L(0)). Both lymphocyte CyA levels also correlated with the frequency of CMV infections. Further studies are needed to establish the optimal range of both CyA blood and lymphocyte levels and decrease the risk of opportunistic infections in high risk patients.