title: [Hepatitis C virus and renal transplantation].
abstract: Liver disease has emerged as an important cause of morbidity and mortality after renal transplantation (RT). Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the leading cause of liver disease after RT. The impact of HCV infection on patient and graft survival is currently a major concern. Retrospective studies with appropriate follow-up have mainly demonstrated that HCV positive patients have greater mortality compared to HCV negative recipients after RT. Novel investigations by large databases (United States Renal Data Systems (USRDS)) have shown that recipients of donor HCV-positive kidneys are at an independently increased risk of mortality, adjusted hazard ratio 2.12 (95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.72-2.87, p<0.001); there was no evidence that any subgroup was less affected. With appropriate informed consent, the use of a renal graft from an HCV positive donor could be offered to an HCV infected recipient. Many renal transplant candidates have satisfactory virological responses to antiviral therapy; the persistence of HCV clearance over a prolonged follow-up after RT has been recently noted. Further prospective studies are needed to define better the course of HCV infection among renal allograft recipients.
authors.affiliation: Divisione di Nefrologia e Dialisi, Ospedale Maggiore, IRCCS, Milano - Italia and Center for Liver and Kidney Diseases and Transplantation, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA - USA.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fabrizi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lunghi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aroldi
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Messa
mesh_terms: D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008107:Liver Diseases; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014019:Tissue Donors
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies