Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Blood Sirolimus and Tacrolimus Concentrations for Polypharmacy Management in a Lymphangioleiomyomatosis Patient Taking Two Cytochrome P450 3A Inhibitors

Patients with lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) and lung transplantations are treated with multiple drugs, such as tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, prednisolone, and itraconazole, for long-term suppression of rejection response and prevention of infection. Additional drugs are required when lung transplant recipients develop graft complications. Therefore, managing polypharmacy is critical because of drug-drug interactions caused by various factors, including drug-metabolizing enzymes such as cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A). The patient was a 48-year-old woman (height 144.9 cm and weight 38.4 kg) who underwent lung transplantation for LAM. Mycophenolate mofetil, tacrolimus (target blood concentration, 4.0-8.0 ng/mL), and prednisolone were administered for immunosuppression, and itraconazole and clarithromycin were administered to manage graft infection. The patient developed unilateral lymphedema, predominantly in the left leg; therefore, sirolimus was initiated with a target blood concentration of 3.0-5.0 ng/mL. In addition to 1.0 mg/day of sirolimus, tacrolimus (0.3 mg/day), itraconazole (100 mg/day), and clarithromycin (800 mg/ day) were added. Blood sirolimus concentrations ranged from 18.8 to 36.9 ng/mL on days 6 to 9; thus, treatment with sirolimus was stopped because of over-target blood concentrations. Blood concentrations of sirolimus and tacrolimus were successfully managed without adverse events using therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and azole anti-fungal substitution of azithromycin instead of clarithromycin although sirolimus concentration was relatively lower compared to the target range. Thereby, frequent TDM, management of polypharmacy that influences CYP3A activity, and possibly CYP3A genotyping should be appropriately conducted for personalized medicine.

Automated summary

Patients with lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) and lung transplantations require multiple drugs for long-term immunosuppression and infection prevention. However, managing polypharmacy is critical due to drug-drug interactions caused by factors like drug-metabolizing enzymes. This case study highlights the importance of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and personalized medicine approaches in managing drug concentrations and minimizing adverse events.