title: Lethal varicella-zoster virus reactivation without skin lesions following renal transplantation.
abstract: Patients after solid organ transplantation are at increased risk of developing herpes zoster and are more likely to develop major complications such as cutaneous dissemination, post-herpetic neuralgia and visceral organ involvement. We report on a 68-year-old woman being varicella-zoster virus (VZV)-seropositive prior to transplantation, who developed fatal VZV meningoencephalitis after renal transplantation presenting with non-specific neurologic symptoms. The case illustrates that VZV reactivation may occur in renal transplant recipients in the absence of skin lesions. Approaches towards risk assessment pre-transplantation and prophylactic regimens for the prevention of VZV recurrence are needed.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Institute, Clinical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jantsch
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bardutzky
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bogdan
authors.forename: Kai-Uwe
authors.initials: KU
authors.lastname: Eckardt
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Raff
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006562:Herpes Zoster / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D014645:Herpesvirus 3, Human / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008590:Meningoencephalitis / Q000209:etiology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012871:Skin Diseases; D014775:Virus Activation
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents