Outcomes Using Reduced Calcineurin Inhibitors in Renal Transplantation

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/CE-certified monograph is intended for renal transplant surgeons, transplant specialists, and community nephrologists.

Upon completing this activity, you should be able to:

1. Discuss the benefits of early steroid withdrawal and replacement with sirolimus and mycophenolate mofetil to minimize calcineurin inhibitors in renal transplant recipients.
2. Compare the efficacy of alemtuzumab induction in conjunction with calcineurin inhibitor maintenance or calcineurin inhibitor-free therapy.
3. Examine low- and high-dose tacrolimus levels on rejection and adverse effects in renal transplant recipients.
4. Determine the impact of calcineurin inhibitor reduction on renal function and graft survival in renal transplant patients.

Accreditation:
This activity was reviewed for relevance, accuracy of content, balance of presentation, and time required for participation by Mark A. Gendreau, MD, MS; Jennifer Verbesey, MD; and Abigail Zavod, MD.

Release Date: April 2008
Expiration Date: April 30, 2009

Millennium CME Institute, Inc., is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Millennium CME Institute, Inc., designates this CME-certified monograph for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

This activity is approved for 1.0 credit hour (0.1 CEU). TG Medical Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. The program number is 454-999-08-004-H01-P and release date is 03/24/2008.

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).

This CNE activity has been approved by American Board of Transplant Certification, an accredited approver of continuing nursing education for 1 Category 1 CEPTCs. Program reference number 3000-219.

This activity has been approved by AACN, an accredited approver of continuing nursing education for 1 Contact Hour, CERP category: A Program reference number 00014182-17.

This program has been approved for 1 contact hour by CCMC or the Commission for Case Manager Certification.

© 2008 Millennium CME Institute, Inc. All rights reserved including translation into other languages. No part of this activity may be 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 C. Chobanian, MD, Medical Director,
Solid Organ Transplant Surgery,
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center,
Lebanon, New Hampshire

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

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

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

Peter B. Lindgren, PhD, 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:

Michael C. Chobanian, MD
Tim I. Robinson
Mark A.Gendreau, MD, MS
Jennifer Verbesey, MD
Frank A. Gesek, PhD, RPh
Abigail Zavod, MD
Peter B. Lindgren, PhD

Off-label Usage Disclosure
This CME/CE activity contains information on commercial products/devices that are unlabeled for use or investigational uses of products not yet approved.

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.

Upon successfully completing this activity as designed and achieving a passing score of 70% or higher on the Activity Self-assessment Test, participants will receive a continuing education credit letter awarding the appropriate credit and the Activity Self-assessment Test answers four to six weeks after the receipt of the registration and evaluation materials.

Estimated time to complete this CME/CE-certified monograph as designed is 1.0 hours.

CME Testing Options