Kidney Transplant Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Kidney Transplant, including details on risks, prognosis, procedure, surgery, organ donation.

Successful use of oral ganciclovir for the treatment of intrauterine cytomegalovirus infection in a renal allograft recipient.

Puliyanda DP, Silverman NS, Lehman D, Vo A, Bunnapradist S, Radha RK, Toyoda M, Jordan SC

Center for Kidney Diseases and Transplantation, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA. dechu.pullyanda@cshs.org

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection occurs in approximately 1% of newborns and is the leading infectious cause of congenital birth defects. Female renal allograft recipients who develop CMV infection during pregnancy are at risk for both graft dysfunction and fetal morbidity. DNA-based analysis of amniotic fluid (AF) from at-risk pregnancies has been suggested as an adjunct/substitute for traditional culture. We have shown that CMV-polymerase chain reaction of AF is a useful diagnostic test for congenital CMV infection. Using this test we diagnosed CMV infection in the fetus of a 30-year-old renal transplant recipient. As termination was not an option for the family, the patient was extensively counseled and treated with oral ganciclovir. This resulted in clearance of the virus from the AF and the delivery of a healthy newborn girl, free of CMV disease. This is the first reported case to our knowledge of successful use of maternal ganciclovir to treat intrauterine CMV infection in a pregnant renal transplant recipient.

Published 9 September 2005 in Transpl Infect Dis, 7(2): 71-4.
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