BK polyoma virus nephropathy in kidney transplant recipient: the role of new immunosuppressive agents.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E Shaharabani.
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BACKGROUND: Veno-occlusive disease (VOD) after liver transplantation is associated with acute rejection and poor outcome. The use of antithrombotic and thrombolytic agents is limited by their toxicity. Defibrotide is a polydeoxyribonucleotide with thrombolytic and antithrombotic properties and no systemic anticoagulant effect. METHODS: Defibrotide, 35-40 mg/kg/day, was administered intravenously for 21 days on a compassionate-use basis to two patients aged 66 and 49 years. VOD had developed 6 weeks and 4 months after orthotopic liver transplantation for hepatitis C and hepatitis B infection, respectively. VOD was diagnosed clinically by findings of weight gain (8.5% and 16%), ascites, jaundice (serum bilirubin 5.4 mg/dl and 21.7 mg/dl), and severe coagulopathy (in one patient), and histologically by the presence of hemorrhagic centrilobular necrosis and fibrous stenosis of the hepatic venules. One of the patients had received azathioprine as part of the immunosuppressive regimen. There was no evidence of acute cellular rejection histologically. RESULTS: After 3 weeks of defibrotide administration, the first patient showed complete clinical resolution of the VOD, and serum bilirubin level normalized. He is alive 6 months after transplantation. The second patient, treated at a later stage of disease, showed marked improvement in the coagulopathic state, but there was no resolution of the VOD. He died 2 months later of multiorgan failure due to Escherichia coli sepsis. Neither patient had side effects from the drug. CONCLUSIONS: Defibrotide is a promising drug for the treatment of VOD after liver transplantation and needs to be evaluated in large, prospective studies.
Fungal infection is an uncommon complication after renal transplantation. We describe a rare form of mucormycosis in the renal graft. Our method was to review chart data and to perform medline searches. The patient was a 42-year-old man who underwent living-unrelated kidney transplantation in Egypt and returned to Israel on POD 8. Within the ensuing 4 weeks he experienced acute rejection which responded to treatment with steroids. Few days after discharge he was readmitted because of fever and graft dysfunction. An infected large perigraft collection was drained, but the patient became anuric and septic. Kidney biopsy showed infarcted necrotic tissue infiltrated by fungi which grew Mucor species. Despite initial improvement following graft nephrectomy and antifungal treatment the patient died of sepsis. Literature review revealed only three additional cases of graft infection due to Mucorales. We conclude that Renal graft infection due to Mucorales is an extremely rare and potentially lethal complication. Living unrelated donation in third world countries might be a possible risk factor. Fungal colonization may occur during transplantation. A high index of suspicion, leading to early diagnosis and initiation of antifungal treatment, in addition to graft nephrectomy, are keys to a more favorable outcome.
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Liver transplantation is the treatment of choice for end-stage liver disease. During the past 8 years we performed 102 liver transplants in 84 adults and 16 children. In the adults, 9 were combined transplants: 1 a liver-pancreas transplant for type I diabetes, and 8 liver-kidney transplants. In the children, transplants included 5 whole-livers, 5 left-lateral liver segments from living-related donors, 4 reduced-grafts of right or left lobes, and 2 split left-lateral segments. At a mean follow-up of 31 months (range 1-96) 70 were alive, 3 had died during surgery and 15 during the first postoperative months. Mortality was due to primary graft non-function (7), sepsis (10), intracranial hemorrhage (1), tumors (4), recurrent hepatitis B (2), biliary strictures (2) and chronic rejection (1). The 1- and 4-year survival rates were 79.5% and 69.6%, respectively. After transplantation, 10 developed biliary stricture (5 corrected by balloon dilatation) and 8 anastomotic stricture (7 corrected by surgery), and there were 2 multiple intrahepatic strictures. There was hepatic artery thrombosis in 5, including 4 children. In 3, grafts were salvaged by thrombectomy and 2 others underwent re-transplantation. In those who survived transplantation by more than 1-month, recurrent hepatitis B was seen in 6 of 17 (35%) and recurrent hepatitis C in 12 of 19 (63%). Thus, results of our first 100 liver transplants are similar to those reported by larger centers, showing that in an appropriate setting good results can be achieved by small transplant programs.