title: Pre-emptive intravenous ganciclovir versus valganciclovir prophylaxis for de novo cytomegalovirus-seropositive kidney-transplant recipients.
abstract: This sequential study evaluated two strategies regarding human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection/disease in HCMV-seropositive de novo kidney-transplant patients. The first cohort of patients (group 1; n = 132) was monitored sequentially for HCMV DNAemia; if it was positive (a cut-off at 3 log(10) copies/ml), the patient was given pre-emptive IV ganciclovir therapy (10 mg/kg/day for 3 weeks). The second cohort consisted of 150 patients (group 2) who were given valganciclovir (VGC) prophylaxis (900 mg/day) for the first 3 months posttransplantation. During the mean follow-up of at least 2 years for both cohorts, VGC prophylaxis resulted in a significant decrease in both CMV infection (68.9% vs. 33.3%; P < 0.001) and disease (9.8% vs. 2.68%, P = 0.021). Factors associated with HCMV reactivation in multivariate analysis were (i) no HCMV prophylaxis; (ii) recipient's age; (iii) being placed on ciclosporine A and mycophenolic acid from the beginning of transplantation (iv) donor HCMV-seropositivity; and (v) being a male recipient. No cases of ganciclovir resistance were detected in the prophylactic group. HCMV prophylaxis had no impact on 2-year patient/graft survival or on kidney-allograft function. We conclude that VGC-prophylaxis can be reasonably used to treat HCMV-seropositive kidney-transplant recipients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Dialysis and Organ Transplantation, CHU Rangueil, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Weclawiak
authors.forename: Nassim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kamar
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mengelle
authors.forename: Laure
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.forename: Abdellatif Ould
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Mohamed
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lavayssiere
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ribes
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cointault
authors.forename: Marie-Béatrice
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Nogier
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cardeau-Desangles
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Izopet
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rostaing
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000235:genetics; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D015774:Ganciclovir / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D000077562:Valganciclovir; D014775:Virus Activation
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D004279:DNA, Viral; D000077562:Valganciclovir; D015774:Ganciclovir