title: Polyomavirus BK nephropathy: the effect of an early diagnosis on renal function or graft loss.
abstract: Polyomavirus BK nephropathy is a new complication among renal transplant patients. We studied 664 cadaver renal transplant recipients from February 1998 to February 2005, divided into two periods: 448 (group A, February 1998 to July 2003) and 176 (group B, August 2003 to February 2005). Twenty patients (3%) developed biopsy-confirmed polyomavirus BK nephropathy; 13 (2.9%) in group A after worsening renal function and 7 (3.9%) in group B after a prospective cytologic study in urine, examining for decoy cells, and a qualitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay in urine and blood. The mean time to diagnosis was higher among group A (15.0 +/- 1.6 versus 7.2 +/- 4.0 months), as was the serum creatinine (2.5 +/- 0.7 versus 2.0 +/- 0.6 mg/dL). After 12 months the serum creatinine was 2.7 +/- 1.3 versus 1.7 +/- 0.2 mg/dL, respectively. Poor prognostic factors were a persistently positive PCR in blood and viral inclusions in the control biopsy.
authors.affiliation: Nephrology Department, Hospital Universitario Carlos Haya, Malaga, Spain.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Burgos
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: López
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cabello
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sola
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Siles
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Florez
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: González Molina
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001739:BK Virus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001706:Biopsy; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D027601:Polyomavirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000821:virology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017211:Treatment Failure; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D003404:Creatinine