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.

Clinical outcome of renal transplantation in patients with positive pre-transplant hepatitis B surface antigen.

Ahn HJ, Kim MS, Kim YS, Kim SI, Huh KH, Ju MK, Ahn SH, Han KH

Department of Surgery, Yonsei University Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea.

The clinical outcomes of 2,054 renal recipients were examined retrospectively based on pre-transplant hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) status to investigate the efficacy of lamivudine treatment in HBsAg positive recipients. Pre-transplant HBsAg positivity was documented in 66 recipients. The 10-year patient and graft survival rates in Ag positive group were significantly lower than those of Ag negative group (64.4/36.6% vs. 88.2/70.5%, respectively, P < 0.0001). Since 1997, lamivudine was used when hepatitis B virus polymerase chain reaction (HBV PCR) was positive or when the level of post-transplant viral load rose. Lamivudine given to 27 recipients markedly improved both 10-year patient and graft survivals compared to Ag positive renal recipients who did not take lamivudine (85.3/59.2% vs. 49.9/22.7%, respectively, P < 0.0001). Overall, 13 viral breakthroughs among 24 lamivudine-responsive patients were observed. The cumulative incidence of viral breakthrough at 60 months was 53.3%. Adefovir rescue in three viral breakthroughs patients induces virological response and restoration of liver function. In 10 patients who did not changed to adefovir, 6 patients are alive with elevated liver enzymes. In conclusion, in the era of lamivudine and adefovir, renal transplantation in HBsAg positive end-stage renal disease patients should not be abandoned.

Published 19 September 2007 in J Med Virol, 79(11): 1655-63.
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