Open AccessImpact of hepatitis C virus and direct acting antivirals on kidney recipients: a retrospective study
Author(s) -
Gendia Mohamed,
Lampertico Pietro,
Alfieri Carlo Maria,
D'Ambrosio Roberta,
Gandolfo Maria Teresa,
Campise Maria Rosaria,
Fabrizi Fabrizio,
Messa Piergiorgio
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
transplant international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.998
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1432-2277
pISSN - 0934-0874
DOI - 10.1111/tri.13393
Subject(s) - medicine , hepatitis c virus , kidney transplantation , proteinuria , hepatitis c , kidney , gastroenterology , retrospective cohort study , liver transplantation , nephrology , transplantation , immunology , virus
Hepatitis C virus ( HCV ) in kidney transplanted patients ( KT x‐p) carries a high risk for a worse outcome. This retrospective study evaluates the impact of HCV and of the new direct acting antivirals ( DAA s) on patient and graft outcomes in KT x patients. Forty (6.5%) of the 616 KT x‐p, who received a kidney transplantation ( KT x) in our Centre had antibodies against HCV : 13 were positive for HCV RNA and received DAA s (Group A); 11 were HCV RNA positive and did not receive any treatment (Group B; n = 11); 16 were negative for HCV RNA (Group C). All Group A patients had HCV RNA negativity after 12 weeks of treatment, and 12 (92.30%) achieved a sustained virological response ( SVR ). Only two patients, who had proteinuria greater than 500 mg/day showed a worsening of proteinuria after antiviral therapy in Group A. Liver enzyme elevation and death were significantly more frequent in Group B than other groups. Our results support the notion that active HCV infection negatively affects kidney recipients and that DAA have a high safety and efficacy profile after KT x with no significant negative effect on allograft function, particularly in well‐functioning renal grafts.