Benefits, Compliance, and Side Effects of Calcineurin Inhibitors in Liver Transplant Recipients

Please Note: This CME activity has expired. You may continue to view the material for educational purposes, but this activity is no longer eligible for CME credit.

Course Objectives:

This CME-certified activity is intended for transplant surgeons, hepatologists, pharmacists, nurses, and case managers to improve patient care.

1. Discuss the ability of calcineurin inhibitors to reduce acute rejection and improve liver transplant graft survival and overall patient survival
2. Compare and contrast calcineurin inhibitors with regard to cardiovascular risk factors (renal function, dyslipidemia, hypertension) and NODM in liver transplant patients
3. Describe the benefits of combined therapy with induction agents and mycophenolate mofetil

Accreditation:

These activities were reviewed for relevance, accuracy of content, balance of presentation, And time required for participation by Mark A. Gendreau, MD, MS; Alexander Mangili, MD Nicole Weinreb, MD; Abigail Zavod, MD; TG Medical Education; Commission for Case Manager Certification; and International Transplant Nurses Society.

Release Date: November 2007
Expiration Date: November 30, 2008

Millennium CME Institute, Inc., is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Millennium CME Institute, Inc., designates each CE-certified activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Participants should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Each activity is approved for 1.0 credit hours (0.1 CEU). TG Medical Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.

The International Transplant Nurses Society has applied to American Board of Transplant Coordinators (ABTC) for approval of CEPTC credits for transplant coordinators and to the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) for Continuing nursing education credits (CEU's).

Each activity has been approved for 1.0 hours by CCMC or the Commission for Case Manager Certification.

© 2007 Millennium CME Institute, Inc. All rights reserved including translation into other languages. No part of this activity maybe reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from Millennium CME Institute, Inc.

Faculty Disclosure:

Expert Commentary
Michael R. Charlton, MD, Director, Hepatobiliary Section, Medical Director of Liver Transplantation, William J. von Liebig Transplant Center ,Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota

John R. Lake, MD, Executive Medical Director, Solid Organ Transplantation Program, University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Michael A. E. Ramsay, MD, FRCA, President, Baylor Research Institute, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas

David J. Reich, MD, FACS, Director, Liver Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery Program; Associate Chairman, Department of Surgery Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia; Associate Professor of Surgery, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Jo-Anne Young, MD, FACP, Associate Professor, Transplant Infectious Diseases, University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Medical Reviewer
Mark A. Gendreau, MD, MS, Senior Staff Physician, Lahey Clinic, Burlington, Massachusetts

Nicole Weinreb, MD, Consulting Physician, Lahey Clinic, Burlington, Massachusetts

Planning Committee
Tim I. Robinson, President, Millennium CME Institute, Inc., Hampton, New Hampshire

David C. Howard, BS Pharmacy, Director of Clinical Affairs,
Millennium CME Institute, Inc., Hampton, New Hampshire

Frank A. Gesek, PhD, RPh, Clinical Affairs Specialist,
Millennium CME Institute, Inc., Hampton, New Hampshire

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in this activity are those of the faculty. It should not be inferred or assumed that they are expressing the views of Astellas Pharma US, Inc., any other manufacturer of pharmaceuticals, or Millennium CME Institute, Inc. The drug selection and dosage information presented in this activity are believed to be accurate. However, participants are urged to consult the full prescribing information on any agent(s) presented in this activity for recommended dosage, indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions, and adverse effects before prescribing any medication. This is particularly important when a drug is new or infrequently prescribed.

Disclosure of Significant Relationships with
Relevant Commercial Companies/Organizations

Millennium CME Institute, Inc., endorses the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Standards for Commercial Support. All faculty are required to disclose any commercial relationships or personal benefit with companies whose products are discussed in educational presentations and with companies who have provided the commercial support for this activity. Disclosure of a relationship is not intended to suggest or condone bias in any presentation, but is made to provide participants with information that might be of potential importance to their evaluation of a presentation.

The faculty listed below have declared that they have no relationships to disclose:

The faculty listed below have declared that they have no relationships to disclose:

David J. Reich, MD, FACS
Michael A. E. Ramsay, MD, FRCA
Michael R. Charlton, MD

The faculty listed below have declared the following arrangements and/or affiliations:

John R. Lake, MD: Consultant/ Speaker—Astellas; Grant Support/ Investigator–Novartis, Genzyme, Roche
Jo-Anne Young, MD, FACP: Consultant/Speaker, Clinical Trials, Private Investigator: Astellas, Merck, Schering-Plough

Signed disclosure forms are on file at Millennium CME Institute, Inc.

Off-labe

Directions:

The learner should read the learning objectives and review the activity in its entirety. After reviewing the material, the learner should complete the Activity Self-assessment Test consisting of a series of multiple-choice questions.