Putative episodes of T-cell-mediated rejection in patients with sustained BK viruria but no viremia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Polyomavirus BK (BKV) infection characterized by viruria alone is considered to be of little clinical significance, but this issue has not been systematically studied.

Methods

We studied 230 patients with sustained viruria from whom multiple samples taken after a median of 877 days (range, 24-2739) showed no progression to viremia or nephropathy. Biopsies satisfying Banff thresholds for inflammation and tubulitis in the presence of viruria but negative for BKV stains were designated as putative T-cell-mediated acute rejection.

Results

Compared with no viruria (n=515), sustained viruria was associated with more putative rejection episodes (0.62 vs. 0.33 per patient, P=0.006) and greater incidence of steroid resistance (36.2% vs. 19.6%, P=0.002). Most putativ

SUBMITTER: Masutani K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3391347 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature