CellCept (mycophenolate mofetil) is a prescription drug prescribed to adults and children after organ transplant surgery to prevent organ rejection. The drug comes in various forms and should be taken twice per day; often doctors combine CellCept with other immunosuppressants in order to lower chances of rejection or infection.
Doctors typically start patients on CellCept as an IV infusion, administered through vein over two or more hours. Once they determine they're ready to take oral medications, doctors switch them over to one of CellCept's oral forms; depending on a child's body surface area (BSA) and swallowing ability, doctors may prescribe different dosages; please refer to table below for maximum milligram (mg) doses of CellCept's oral forms for children and adults undergoing kidney, heart or liver transplant surgery surgery
Doctors use Body Surface Area (BSA) measurements of patients to calculate dosage recommendations of CellCept and other medications.
CellCept and other immunosuppressants increase the risk of opportunistic infections, such as cytomegalovirus tissue invasive disease, hepatitis due to B or C reactivation and polyomavirus-associated progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), which can lead to permanent brain damage when taken in high doses.
Opportunistic infections can be serious and even life-threatening. They include bacteria, fungal, viral and protozoal infections - as well as latent viral reactivation such as Hepatitis B & C virus infections (see Section 4.8).
