Extended Antiviral May Benefit Kidney Transplant Patients

[okarol]

Extended Antiviral May Benefit Kidney Transplant Patients
Risk of viral infection can be cut in half with 6 months of treatment, study finds
Posted September 17, 2009

THURSDAY, Sept. 17 (HealthDay News) -- A longer period of preventive treatment after kidney transplant can help reduce the risk that the patient will become infected with a virus that can cause devastating problems, new research suggests.

Healthy people can usually fight off the virus, called cytomegalovirus, but those with kidney transplants have weakened immune systems and are more susceptible to infection, the authors of the study noted in a news release from the American Society of Nephrology.

In the comparison study, Dr. Fu Luan, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues gave kidney transplant patients either three months or six months of treatment with the antiviral drug valganciclovir. They found that those who were given the longer treatment had a rate of infection that was half that of those who received treatment for three months (12 percent vs. 24 percent).

When the researchers took into account other factors that could have played a role, they found that the longer treatment regimen lowered the risk of cytomegalovirus by nearly two-thirds.

The study also found that the longer treatment is cost-effective, although it is expensive. But the study authors contend that it's cheaper in the long run to prevent infections that could end up being very costly.

The findings appear online Sept. 17 in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

More information

Learn more about kidney transplants from the U.S. National Library of Medicine.


http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/09/17/extended-antiviral-may-benefit-kidney-transplant.html

[Chris]

To me, didn't need research for that after my experiences. Wish they would wise up sooner.

[rookiegirl]

Carol - thanks for the post.  My Neph started me back on Valcyte last week for another 3 months.  I did take it for 3 mos after my transplant.  My Neph wanted me to go back on the Valcyte b/c my WBC is really low and that she tested me last week as CMV+.

[okarol]

I thought WBC would always be low in an immunosuppressed person (I am always trying to find out what is considered acceptable without being too low.)
Rookiegirl, was the donor + and you were - for CMV before the transplant?

[rookiegirl]

Carol - I'm not sure if my donor was CMV positive, but I did find out from my Dr. that I was CMV negative at the beginning and now positive.  She wants to do another blood test for CMV again.  I go tomorrow morning to have it done.  I really don't know what all this means.  I asked her should I be worried and she just said "no" but wants to be proactive; whatever that means.

In the meantime, I'm still taking Valcyte.