Over the past 50 years, the medical community has witnessed great advances in the care of patients receiving organ transplants. Improved therapeutic strategies have been associated with overall better patient and graft survival rates, however this positive change did not directly translate to improved graft half lives of transplanted organs. The American Transplant Society estimates that the population of transplant survivors is over 220,000 worldwide with at least 140,000 in the U.S. and at least 80,000 in the rest of the world. Specific groups of transplant recipients are considered “at high-risk,” and the management of their immunosuppressive protocols requires special consideration. With all the successes of immunosuppressive therapies come the obligation to customize treatments to meet the individual patients characteristics and to balance the risks and benefits of these medications.
TARGET AUDIENCE
This activity is intended for physicians, surgeons, pharmacists, and other healthcare providers responsible for the care of solid organ transplant recipients.
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this activity the participants should be better able to:
- Recognize the characteristics that define the high-risk and low-risk transplant recipient
- Discuss the balance of preserving long-term renal function while providing optimal immunosuppression
- Explain the clinical relevance of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of immunosuppressants and its potential impact on patient response
- Compare and contrast outcomes of calcineurin inhibitor-based corticosteroid sparing immunosuppressive regimens
- Review emerging steroid-sparing protocols for immunosuppression and its potential clinical impact on outcomes
EDUCATIONAL METHOD
This activity consists of a downloadable slide presentation with audio. This program takes approximately 1 hour to complete. There is no fee to participate in this activity.
audio slideshow
