Screening for polyomavirus nephropathy and viremia in children with renal transplantation.

Background: Polyomavirus, known as BK virus, is an important cause of allograft dysfunction in renal transplant patients, leading to BK virus nephropathy. The main study objectives were to assess the disease incidence and disease course in pediatric patients, and assess the diagnostic accuracy of BK screening for asymptomatic patients.

Methods: This is a single-center observational study, which included 81 pediatric renal allograft recipients that were transplanted and/or followed at King Fahad Specialist Hospital-Dammam, Saudi Arabia.