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.

West Nile encephalitis, status epilepticus and West Nile pneumonia in a renal transplant patient.

Jain N, Fisk D, Sotir M, Kehl KS

Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.

West Nile neuroinvasive disease (WNND) represents a small fraction of cases of West Nile Virus (WNV) infection. Organ transplantation is associated with increased risk of acquiring WNND. We report a patient with living-related renal transplantation who developed unusual manifestations of WNND. First, fatal status epilepticus unresponsive to pentobarbital ensued. Status epilepticus from WNV has been described very rarely in the medical literature. Second, this patient grew WNV on broncho-alveolar lavage samples. To our knowledge, this is the first case of culture positive West Nile pneumonia. Third, the finding in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of a negative West Nile immunoglobulin M (IgM) and a positive West Nile polymerase chain reaction is striking. It is consistent with a high-viral burden and impaired immune response. This finding raises questions about the appropriateness of relying on CSF IgM assays to rapidly diagnose WNV encephalitis in organ transplant patients, as has been recommended.

Published 8 August 2007 in Transpl Int, 20(9): 800-3.
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