Evidence of Liver TransplantationFKoslNCT02608606
Determining Equivalence Dose for Oral Versus Sublingual Administration of Tacrolimus in Hepatic Receptors
A study testing Tacrolimus in people with Evidence of Liver Transplantation and Effects of Immunosuppressant Therapy, run by Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile at 1 site in Chile.
Trial summary
After liver transplantation one of the most important cost, for both patients and their health insurance system, is immunosuppressive drug therapy. Tacrolimus (FK 506) is considered the cornerstone of immunosuppressive therapy in solid organ transplantation. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 70 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Evidence of Liver Transplantation, Effects of Immunosuppressant Therapy
- What is being tested?
- Tacrolimus
- Type of treatment
- Pill or oral medicine
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 20 participants
- Where
- 1 siteChile
- Study dates
- Mar 2015to Mar 2016
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 70 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Outline of immunosuppression that includes tacrolimus dosing every 12 hours.
- Stable plasma levels of tacrolimus in 3 consecutive measurements.
- Stable blood tests: biochemical profile, creatinine and liver profile.
- Absence of treatment with drugs that have interaction with tacrolimus (antifungal and diltiazem) and use of grapefruit juice.
- Absence of active bacterial or viral infection and rejection episodes within 8 weeks prior.
Who cannot join
- -
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
After liver transplantation one of the most important cost, for both patients and their health insurance system, is immunosuppressive drug therapy. Tacrolimus (FK 506) is considered the cornerstone of immunosuppressive therapy in solid organ transplantation. Oral administration is the usual route, however, sublingual (SL) administration has been recently reported. This method of administration avoids first pass metabolism and allows an alternative route after transplant surgery, particularly in those patients who should extend the period of fasting (prolonged intubation, ileus, etc). Interestingly, in some studies, the dose of tacrolimus SL required to maintain similar plasma concentrations compared with oral administration, is significantly lower, even up to 50%, which can result in considerable savings in short and long term. Among these studies, only one was conducted in liver recipients. This study suggest that SL administration of tacrolimus could allow to obtain similar concentrations compared with oral administration. The design of this study did not assess the existence of differences in the dose required and only included six patients.
Read the detailed description
The patient will be scheduled fasting to liver transplant unit where the pharmacokinetic study was performed. After installation of the venous needle, blood samples will be collected on 4 ml tubes with EDTA as an anticoagulant at the following intervals of time in hours: 0 (immediately before the oral administration of tacrolimus); 0.5; 1.0; 1.5; 2; 4; 6; 9 and 12 h. post-dose. Once the blood samples taken, the tubes will be plugged, invest gently to mix with anticoagulant and stored at -20 ° C until analysis.
Subsequently, tacrolimus administration was change to sublingual route and dose was adjusted to obtain similar trough levels to those determined on per oral administration. The capsule be opened and its contents shall be deposited in the sublingual mucosa. To be ensure that drug will be absorted the patient will be instructed to insistently that after sublingual placement of the drug, should not swallow the capsule content for at least 15 minutes. The same pharmacokinetic study described for the oral route will be performed.
Breakfast will be administered 2 hours after ingesting the drug and lunch and dinner 6 and 10 hours after respectively. Fluid intake is discretionary.
- Being tested
- Tacrolimus
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
TacrolimusDrug
Also called FK506
compared oral administration versus sublingual administration of tacrolimus.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| oral administration of tacrolimus | No intervention | Oral administration of tacrolimus (FK506) in the usal dose and measuring plasmatic levels at hours 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. Measuring AUC. |
| sublingual administration of tacrolimus | Active comparator | sublingual administration of tacrolimus (FK506) in the dose that allows similar plasmatic level at time 0 compared with the oral administration, and measuring plasmatic levels at hours 0, 0.5, 1 , 2, 3 , 4 and 6. Measuring AUC. Receives: Drug: Tacrolimus |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Compare tacrolimus exposure using per oral and sublingual administration employing AUC (Area Under the Curve).
compared oral administration versus sublingual administration of tacrolimus
Measured: 30 days
Secondary outcomes (1)
Compare tacrolimus dose necessary to obtain similar trough levels employing per oral and sublingual administration
compared oral administration versus sublingual administration of tacrolimus
Measured: 30 days
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted20 Nov 2015 (estimated)
- Study startMar 2015
- Primary completionMar 2016
- Study completionMar 2016
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (11)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Evidence of Liver TransplantationStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Pontificia Universidad Catolica de ChileThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 20 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Carlos Benitez, Hepatologist, Principal investigator, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02608606
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- FKoral-sl
- Acronym
- FKosl
- Status last verified
- Oct 2016
- First submitted
- 3 Nov 2015
- Last updated
- 12 Oct 2016
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: The preliminary data from this trial will be presented at the AASLD Liver meeting in San Francisco in November 2015
Publications
Agopian VG, Petrowsky H, Kaldas FM, Zarrinpar A, Farmer DG, Yersiz H, Holt C, Harlander-Locke M, Hong JC, Rana AR, Venick R, McDiarmid SV, Goldstein LI, Durazo F, Saab S, Han S, Xia V, Hiatt JR, Busuttil RW. The evolution of liver transplantation during 3 decades: analysis of 5347 consecutive liver transplants at a single center. Ann Surg. 2013 Sep;258(3):409-21. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0b013e3182a15db4.
PubMed 24022434Rabkin JM, Corless CL, Rosen HR, Olyaei AJ. Pharmacoeconomic study of tacrolimus-based versus cyclosporine-based immunosuppressive therapy following liver transplantation. Transplant Proc. 2001 Feb-Mar;33(1-2):1532-4. doi: 10.1016/s0041-1345(00)02585-9. No abstract available.
PubMed 11267411Collin C, Boussaud V, Lefeuvre S, Amrein C, Glouzman AS, Havard L, Billaud EM, Guillemain R. Sublingual tacrolimus as an alternative to intravenous route in patients with thoracic transplant: a retrospective study. Transplant Proc. 2010 Dec;42(10):4331-7. doi: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2010.09.126.
PubMed 21168693Reams BD, Palmer SM. Sublingual tacrolimus for immunosuppression in lung transplantation: a potentially important therapeutic option in cystic fibrosis. Am J Respir Med. 2002;1(2):91-8. doi: 10.1007/BF03256598.
PubMed 14720063Reams D, Rea J, Davis D, Palmer S. Utility of sublingual tacrolimus in cystic fibrosis patients after lung transplantation. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2001 Feb;20(2):207-208. doi: 10.1016/s1053-2498(00)00447-2. No abstract available.
PubMed 11250374Romero I, Jimenez C, Gil F, Escuin F, Ramirez E, Fudio S, Borobia A, Carcas A. Sublingual administration of tacrolimus in a renal transplant patient. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2008 Feb;33(1):87-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2710.2008.00884.x.
PubMed 18211623Srinarong P, Pham BT, Holen M, van der Plas A, Schellekens RC, Hinrichs WL, Frijlink HW. Preparation and physicochemical evaluation of a new tacrolimus tablet formulation for sublingual administration. Drug Dev Ind Pharm. 2012 Apr;38(4):490-500. doi: 10.3109/03639045.2011.613075. Epub 2011 Sep 30.
PubMed 21961909Tsapepas D, Saal S, Benkert S, Levine D, Delfin M, Cremers S, Amann S, Dadhania D, Kapur S, Aull M. Sublingual tacrolimus: a pharmacokinetic evaluation pilot study. Pharmacotherapy. 2013 Jan;33(1):31-7. doi: 10.1002/phar.1149.
PubMed 23307542van de Plas A, Dackus J, Christiaans MH, Stolk LM, van Hooff JP, Neef C. A pilot study on sublingual administration of tacrolimus. Transpl Int. 2009 Mar;22(3):358-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-2277.2008.00779.x. Epub 2008 Oct 30. No abstract available.
PubMed 18980626Watkins KD, Boettger RF, Hanger KM, Leard LE, Golden JA, Hoopes CW, Singer JP. Use of sublingual tacrolimus in lung transplant recipients. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2012 Feb;31(2):127-32. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2011.10.015. Epub 2011 Dec 16.
PubMed 22177691Nasiri-Toosi Z, Dashti-Khavidaki S, Nasiri-Toosi M, Khalili H, Jafarian A, Irajian H, Abdollahi A, Sadrai S. Clinical pharmacokinetics of oral versus sublingual administration of tacrolimus in adult liver transplant recipients. Exp Clin Transplant. 2012 Dec;10(6):586-91. doi: 10.6002/ect.2012.0032. Epub 2012 Jul 5.
PubMed 22770208
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 12 Oct 2016. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Determining Equivalence Dose for Oral Versus Sublingual Administration of Tacrolimus in Hepatic Receptors
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02608606
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- FKosl / FKoral-sl
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 20 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Pontificia Universidad Catolica de ChileUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- Mar 2015
- Primary completion
- Mar 2016 (actual)
- Study completion
- Mar 2016 (actual)
- First posted
- 20 Nov 2015 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
After liver transplantation one of the most important cost, for both patients and their health insurance system, is immunosuppressive drug therapy. Tacrolimus (FK 506) is considered the cornerstone of immunosuppressive therapy in solid organ transplantation. Oral administration is the usual route, however, sublingual (SL) administration has been recently reported. This method of administration avoids first pass metabolism and allows an alternative route after transplant surgery, particularly in those patients who should extend the period of fasting (prolonged intubation, ileus, etc). Interestingly, in some studies, the dose of tacrolimus SL required to maintain similar plasma concentrations compared with oral administration, is significantly lower, even up to 50%, which can result in considerable savings in short and long term. Among these studies, only one was conducted in liver recipients. This study suggest that SL administration of tacrolimus could allow to obtain similar concentrations compared with oral administration. The design of this study did not assess the existence of differences in the dose required and only included six patients.
Detailed description
The patient will be scheduled fasting to liver transplant unit where the pharmacokinetic study was performed. After installation of the venous needle, blood samples will be collected on 4 ml tubes with EDTA as an anticoagulant at the following intervals of time in hours: 0 (immediately before the oral administration of tacrolimus); 0.5; 1.0; 1.5; 2; 4; 6; 9 and 12 h. post-dose. Once the blood samples taken, the tubes will be plugged, invest gently to mix with anticoagulant and stored at -20 ° C until analysis.
Subsequently, tacrolimus administration was change to sublingual route and dose was adjusted to obtain similar trough levels to those determined on per oral administration. The capsule be opened and its contents shall be deposited in the sublingual mucosa. To be ensure that drug will be absorted the patient will be instructed to insistently that after sublingual placement of the drug, should not swallow the capsule content for at least 15 minutes. The same pharmacokinetic study described for the oral route will be performed.
Breakfast will be administered 2 hours after ingesting the drug and lunch and dinner 6 and 10 hours after respectively. Fluid intake is discretionary.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| oral administration of tacrolimus | No intervention | –Oral administration of tacrolimus (FK506) in the usal dose and measuring plasmatic levels at hours 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. Measuring AUC. |
| sublingual administration of tacrolimus | Active comparator | Drug: Tacrolimussublingual administration of tacrolimus (FK506) in the dose that allows similar plasmatic level at time 0 compared with the oral administration, and measuring plasmatic levels at hours 0, 0.5, 1 , 2, 3 , 4 and 6. Measuring AUC. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 70 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Outline of immunosuppression that includes tacrolimus dosing every 12 hours.
- Stable plasma levels of tacrolimus in 3 consecutive measurements.
- Stable blood tests: biochemical profile, creatinine and liver profile.
- Absence of treatment with drugs that have interaction with tacrolimus (antifungal and diltiazem) and use of grapefruit juice.
- Absence of active bacterial or viral infection and rejection episodes within 8 weeks prior.
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- -
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| TacrolimusAlso: FK506compared oral administration versus sublingual administration of tacrolimus. | Drug | sublingual administration of tacrolimus |
Primary outcome
Compare tacrolimus exposure using per oral and sublingual administration employing AUC (Area Under the Curve).
Time frame: 30 days
compared oral administration versus sublingual administration of tacrolimus
1 secondary outcome
Compare tacrolimus dose necessary to obtain similar trough levels employing per oral and sublingual administration
Time frame: 30 days
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 12 Oct 2016.
- Results publication: PubMed 24022434Agopian VG, Petrowsky H, Kaldas FM, Zarrinpar A, Farmer DG, Yersiz H, Holt C, Harlander-Locke M, Hong JC, Rana AR, Venick R, McDiarmid SV, Goldstein LI, Durazo F, Saab S, Han S, Xia V, Hiatt JR, Busuttil RW. The evolution of liver transplantation during 3 decades: analysis of 5347 consecutive liver transplants at a single center. Ann Surg. 2013 Sep;258(3):409-21. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0b013e3182a15db4.
- Results publication: PubMed 11267411Rabkin JM, Corless CL, Rosen HR, Olyaei AJ. Pharmacoeconomic study of tacrolimus-based versus cyclosporine-based immunosuppressive therapy following liver transplantation. Transplant Proc. 2001 Feb-Mar;33(1-2):1532-4. doi: 10.1016/s0041-1345(00)02585-9. No abstract available.
- Results publication: PubMed 21168693Collin C, Boussaud V, Lefeuvre S, Amrein C, Glouzman AS, Havard L, Billaud EM, Guillemain R. Sublingual tacrolimus as an alternative to intravenous route in patients with thoracic transplant: a retrospective study. Transplant Proc. 2010 Dec;42(10):4331-7. doi: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2010.09.126.
- Results publication: PubMed 14720063Reams BD, Palmer SM. Sublingual tacrolimus for immunosuppression in lung transplantation: a potentially important therapeutic option in cystic fibrosis. Am J Respir Med. 2002;1(2):91-8. doi: 10.1007/BF03256598.
- Results publication: PubMed 11250374Reams D, Rea J, Davis D, Palmer S. Utility of sublingual tacrolimus in cystic fibrosis patients after lung transplantation. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2001 Feb;20(2):207-208. doi: 10.1016/s1053-2498(00)00447-2. No abstract available.
- Results publication: PubMed 18211623Romero I, Jimenez C, Gil F, Escuin F, Ramirez E, Fudio S, Borobia A, Carcas A. Sublingual administration of tacrolimus in a renal transplant patient. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2008 Feb;33(1):87-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2710.2008.00884.x.
- Results publication: PubMed 21961909Srinarong P, Pham BT, Holen M, van der Plas A, Schellekens RC, Hinrichs WL, Frijlink HW. Preparation and physicochemical evaluation of a new tacrolimus tablet formulation for sublingual administration. Drug Dev Ind Pharm. 2012 Apr;38(4):490-500. doi: 10.3109/03639045.2011.613075. Epub 2011 Sep 30.
- Results publication: PubMed 23307542Tsapepas D, Saal S, Benkert S, Levine D, Delfin M, Cremers S, Amann S, Dadhania D, Kapur S, Aull M. Sublingual tacrolimus: a pharmacokinetic evaluation pilot study. Pharmacotherapy. 2013 Jan;33(1):31-7. doi: 10.1002/phar.1149.
- Results publication: PubMed 18980626van de Plas A, Dackus J, Christiaans MH, Stolk LM, van Hooff JP, Neef C. A pilot study on sublingual administration of tacrolimus. Transpl Int. 2009 Mar;22(3):358-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-2277.2008.00779.x. Epub 2008 Oct 30. No abstract available.
- Results publication: PubMed 22177691Watkins KD, Boettger RF, Hanger KM, Leard LE, Golden JA, Hoopes CW, Singer JP. Use of sublingual tacrolimus in lung transplant recipients. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2012 Feb;31(2):127-32. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2011.10.015. Epub 2011 Dec 16.
- Results publication: PubMed 22770208Nasiri-Toosi Z, Dashti-Khavidaki S, Nasiri-Toosi M, Khalili H, Jafarian A, Irajian H, Abdollahi A, Sadrai S. Clinical pharmacokinetics of oral versus sublingual administration of tacrolimus in adult liver transplant recipients. Exp Clin Transplant. 2012 Dec;10(6):586-91. doi: 10.6002/ect.2012.0032. Epub 2012 Jul 5.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. The preliminary data from this trial will be presented at the AASLD Liver meeting in San Francisco in November 2015
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Carlos Benitez, Hepatologist principal investigator
Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Tacrolimus in people with Evidence of Liver Transplantation and Effects of Immunosuppressant Therapy, run by Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile at 1 site in Chile.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 12 Oct 2016. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Chile. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Compare tacrolimus exposure using per oral and sublingual administration employing AUC (Area Under the Curve). (time frame: 30 days). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT02608606, which also lists 11 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 12 Oct 2016; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 7 Nov 2026.