Kidney transplant recipients that were positive for HIV had a greater
survival rate vs. kidney transplant recipients with hepatitis C virus
infection and recipients coinfected with HIV and hepatitis C virus
infection, according to new study data.
“These findings show that HIV patients are being unfairly perceived to
have worse kidney transplant outcomes than noninfected groups, and as a
result, they often have to wait the longest for transplants and there
are fewer living donors,” Deirdre Sawinksi, MD,
assistant professor in the division of renal, electrolyte and
hypertension at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of
Pennsylvania, said in a press release. “Our hope is that these study
findings result in greater access to transplantation for HIV
patients, while also inspiring the kidney transplant community to focus
on eradicating hepatitis C in transplant patients — either
pre-transplant or if that’s not possible, immediately post-transplant —
to ensure better outcomes for these patients.”
“Under current U.S. kidney transplant practice, HIV monoinfection does
not adversely affect recipient or allograft survival and is associated
with superior outcomes compared with both HCV monoinfection and HIV/HCV
coinfection in this population,” the researchers concluded.
“Investigation of pretransplant or immediate post-transplant viral
eradication with contemporary therapies should be prioritized as a
strategy to improve post-transplant outcomes in HCV-infected kidney
recipients.” – by Melinda Stevens
Read more...Labels: HCV and kidney transplant