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Respiratory viruses are among the most common causes of infection among solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. Respiratory viruses, such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, can cause a range of disease from asymptomatic shedding, upper respiratory infections, to life threatening pneumonia. In addition, respiratory viruses may be associated with chronic sequelae, including devasting late complications such as chronic rejection in lung transplant recipients and...

The influence of chronic immunosuppression on the course of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection in recipients of solid organ transplantation (SOT) is still unsettled. Scarce data suggest that the course of CHIKV infection is generally benign in this population. In addition, the occurrence of severe atypical manifestations associated with CHIKV has not been well documented among SOT recipients. In this report, we describe a 64-year-old male liver transplant recipient who was admitted with...

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection related liver diseases are a leading indication for liver transplantation (LT) worldwide, responsible for about 20% of all LT performed in Europe and the United States. In the context of liver transplantation, treatment of HCV infection has been classically challenging because of therapies’ low efficacy and safety concerns associated with interferon-based regimens, so that patients with decompensated cirrhosis and liver graft recipients have been...

Background Letermovir (LTV) might be an alternative treatment to nephrotoxic foscarnet (FOS) in Ganciclovir (GCV) resistant cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. However, its efficacy in controlling active CMV viremia is unclear, as it is only approved for CMV prophylaxis in hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation. Methods This case series describes 14 kidney transplant recipients (KTR) with moderate-level GCV resistant CMV infection, treated by different step-down strategies after initial FOS...

Background: Solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients are at increased risk of vaccine-­ preventable illness due to the high degree of immunosuppression required following transplantation. The current recommendation is to vaccinate with live attenuated vaccines, including Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) and Varicella (VAR) vaccines, at least 4 weeks prior to transplant. However, data to support the time interval between vaccine and transplant are limited. Methods: We conduct a literature...

Introduction. Molecular testing such as nasopharyngeal viral polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (NVP) is available now in most hospitals and widely used to identify respiratory viral infections (RVIs) in solid organ transplantation (SOT) recipients. Materials and Methods. A retrospective multicenter study at 8 hospitals from March 1, 2016, to April 30, 2019. We included all adult SOT recipients who were admitted to the hospitals and had their first NVP post transplantation. Results. A total of...

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can be transmitted from organ donor to recipient, but details of transmission events are not widely published. The Disease Transmission Advisory Committee (DTAC) evaluated 105 cases of potential donor derived transmission events of HBV between 2009-2017. Proven, probable or possible transmission of HBV occurred in 25 (23.8%) cases. Recipients of liver grafts were most commonly infected (20 of 21 exposed recipients) compared to 9 of 21 exposed non-hepatic recipients....

Letermovir is a new antiviral drug approved for the prophylaxis of CMV infection in allogeneic stem cell transplants. The aim of the study was to assess the therapeutic efficacy of letermovir in difficult to treat CMV infections in lung transplant recipients. All lung transplant recipients between March 2018 and August 2020, who have been treated with letermovir for ganciclovir-resistant or refractory CMV infection were included in the study and analysed retrospectively. In total, 28...

Background Protecting against CMV infection and maintaining CMV in latent state are largely provided by CMV-specific T-cells in lung transplant recipients. The aim of the study was to assess whether a specific T-cell response is associated with the risk for CMV infection in seronegative patients who are at high risk for delayed CMV infection. Methods All CMV-seronegative recipients (R−) from CMV-seropositive donors (D+) between January 2018 and April 2019 were included and retrospectively...

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes significant morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised hosts with particular burden among allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant and lung transplant recipients. Affected patients have a substantial risk of secondary infection, ICU admission, or death. Improved diagnostic testing with better sensitivity has given new insights into the epidemiology of disease. In particular, it has highlighted the issue of nosocomial transmission and hospital...

The Practice Guidelines Committee of the American Society of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT) partnered with its Transpl. Infect. Dis. Special Interest Group (TID-SIG) to update its 2009 compendium-style infectious disease guidelines for hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). A new approach was employed with the goal of better serving clinical providers by publishing each standalone topic in the infectious diseases series as a concise format of frequently asked questions...

Background The demand for transplantable kidneys continues to outstrip supply, and the risk of donor-derived infection limits utilization. The effect of donor or recipient HBV status, defined by surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity, on long-term survival outcomes of kidney transplant (KT) is unknown. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study based on Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) data from 2000 to 2019. We identified three cohorts based on donor (D) or recipient...

Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) 1 and 2 and Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) are ubiquitous alpha-herpes viruses that establish lifelong latency in nerve root ganglia. They are characterized by clinical and subclinical reactivation which can lead to significant morbidity in the transplant population. Primary infection after transplant can also be highly morbid, potentially fatal. Despite significant advances in screening, diagnosis, treatment and prevention, there are further gains to be made in...

Ganciclovir (GCV) and foscarnet (FCN) are effective anti-cytomegalovirus (CMV) preemptive therapies; however, the impact of the 2 agents on various clinical outcomes of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) remains unclear. We retrospectively analyzed data on 532 patients undergoing allogeneic HSCT from unrelated donors and administered FCN (n = 86) or GCV (n = 446) as first-line anti-CMV preemptive therapy. Overall survival, relapse, and nonrelapse mortality (NRM) did...

Human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B), collectively termed HHV-6A/B, are neurotropic viruses that permanently infect most humans from an early age. Although most people infected with these viruses appear to suffer no ill effects, the viruses are a well-established cause of encephalitis in immunocompromised patients. In this review, we summarize the evidence that the viruses may also be one trigger for febrile seizures (including febrile status epilepticus) in...

Hosts with compromised or naive immune systems, such as individuals living with HIV/AIDS, transplant recipients, and fetuses, are at the highest risk for complications from cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. Despite substantial progress in prevention, diagnostics, and treatment, CMV continues to negatively impact both solid-organ transplant (SOT) and hematologic cell transplant (HCT) recipients. In this article, we summarize important developments in the field over the past 10 years and...

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (allo-HCT) recipients. CMV cell-mediated immunity (CMV-CMI) as determined by a peptide-based enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) CMV assay may identify patients at risk for clinically significant CMV infection (CS-CMVi).The CS-CMVi was defined as CMV viremia and/or disease necessitating antiviral therapy. CMV-CMI was characterized as high when the...

The opioid epidemic has resulted in an increase in organ donors with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the United States. With the development of direct-acting antiviral regimens that offer high sustained virologic response rates even in the setting of immunosuppression after transplantation, these HCV-viremic organs are now being offered to transplant candidates with or without preexisting HCV infection. Strategies for HCV treatment with HCV-viremic organs have included delayed and...

<h3>BACKGROUND</h3><p>Increased utilization of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive donors has increased transplantation rates. However, high levels of viremia have been documented in recipients of viremic donors. There is a knowledge gap in how transient viremia may impact acute cellular rejections (ACRs).</p><h3>METHODS</h3><p>In this study, 50 subjects received hearts from either viremic or non-viremic donors. The recipients of viremic donors were classified as nucleic acid amplification...