Epidemiology
We conducted a review of the medical literature available in a number of major clinical databases (PubMed, New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Nature, Annals of internal Medicine, Google Scholar and SciELO). We found 18 articles, consisting of case reports and observational studies, which described Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy as a side effect of Tacrolimus occurring in a wide age range (Table 1). While similar cases have been described in patients aged between 58 to 62 years8,13,14, there are reports of this adverse effect occurring in much younger patients. For example, Turska et al. mention a 17-month-old child with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy15, and another case describes a premature newborn with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy whose mother had received tacrolimus during pregnancy 16. There were no differences between men and women regarding occurrence of tacrolimus induced cardiomyopathy, with reports of this adverse effect in both sexes.