Acute kidney injury in an infant of a kidney allograft recipient

Abstract

Tacrolimus has been used in pregnant organ recipients for >20 years, and the relationship between fetal complications and the amount of tacrolimus crossing the placenta is still controversial. We report the case of a kidney transplant recipient who used tacrolimus and gave birth to an offspring that developed, shortly after birth, an acute kidney injury caused by tacrolimus exposure, which was detected by measuring tacrolimus levels in the umbilical vein, as well as in maternal blood. Even if whole-blood levels of tacrolimus are within the therapeutic range throughout pregnancy, the amount of tacrolimus could reach toxic levels.