Can Organ Transplant Patients Take Antiviral Drugs If They Are Infected With The Epidemic?

The covid epidemic is still in the plateau stage, and more and more people are infected! At present, the use of antiviral drugs is still limited to severe patients with covids, low immunity, and the elderly over 65 years old, etc., and organ transplant recipients are also eligible for medicine due to low immunity. But what should organ transplant recipients do?

Mr. He, 46 years old, recovered well after kidney transplantation. He took immunosuppressants (anti-rejection drugs) regularly and his condition remained stable. Unexpectedly, at the end of September, he was diagnosed with new coronary pneumonia by rapid screening. After taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid prescribed by the clinic doctor for 5 days, he developed symptoms such as persistent headache, insomnia, and loss of appetite.

Mr. He endured the pain until the home isolation period expired, and went to the kidney transplant clinic of Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital for medical treatment. The director of the organ transplant center, Zheng Shaobin, found that his immunosuppressant drug concentration exceeded 10 times the upper limit of the normal value!

Click Here to Know more details about How cistanche Improves kidney function without side effect

Ask more：

wallence.suen@wecistanche.com 0015292862950

Drug interactions may cause the concentration of immune agents in the blood to exceed the standard
Zheng Shaobin said that excessive drug concentration may cause neurological symptoms such as impaired kidney function, increased blood pressure, insomnia, headache, hand tremors, and paresthesia, and may even cause secondary infections due to excessive immunosuppression. Serious drug side effects may Deadly, not to be ignored.

He reminded that the anti-rejection drugs taken by organ transplant patients will interact with the antiviral drugs for new coronary pneumonia, which may be life-threatening. Transplant patients must actively inform the original medical team, adjust the dose of drugs, and closely track the blood concentration and clinical status.

Zheng Shaobin further explained that since commonly used immunosuppressants and the oral antiviral drug Paxlovid have the same metabolic enzymes in the human body, taking them at the same time will reduce the metabolism of immunosuppressants and increase the plasma concentration of immunosuppressants.

Organ transplant patients infected with the virus must consult their physicians about the dosage
"Before many kidney transplant patients were diagnosed, before using oral antiviral drugs, they contacted the team physicians in advance, consulted on the dosage adjustment of immunosuppressants, and cooperated with blood draws to track plasma drug concentrations," he said.

However, Mr. He thought he had informed the clinic doctor that he was a patient taking immunosuppressants for a long time, so he did not contact the transplant team. A serious drug interaction occurred by mistake. Fortunately, he sought medical treatment as soon as possible and did not cause life-threatening.

Zheng Shaobin appealed that in order to ensure the drug safety of patients after organ transplantation, it is recommended to temporarily suspend the use of immunosuppressants during the 5-day course of oral antiviral drugs. Use dosage.

After organ transplantation, patients who are infected with the disease must actively contact the original transplant team physicians to consult with the anti-rejection drug-related adjustments and follow-up concentrations and clinical conditions during the course of anti-viral drug treatment, so as to restore health with peace of mind and safety.