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Viral infections are a global public health problem and can contribute significantly to patient morbidity and mortality. It is estimated that there are 350 million people worldwide who are infected with hepatitis B virus and 17,000 new cases per year of hepatitis C are identified (Wasley et al., MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 57(SS-2):1–24, 2008). Herpes viruses are common, with an estimated seroprevalence of 50% for herpes simplex virus type-1 and 20% herpes simplex virus type-2 seroprevalence among adults in the United States (Piret and Boivin, Antimicrob Agents Chemother 55(2):459–472, 2011). Influenza infections worldwide lead to serious morbidity and have been associated with thousands of deaths each year; 18,500 deaths were attributed to 2009 influenza A H1N1 pandemic alone (MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 59(33):1057–1089, 2010; Dawood et al., Lancet Infect Dis 12(9):687–695, 2012). It is imperative that clinicians have an intimate knowledge of any medication used in their practice and a working knowledgebase of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics is especially true in the discipline of infectious diseases. This chapter provides a detail review of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters of antiviral agents utilized to treat select viral infections in patients undergoing transplantation.

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9034-4_55