Impact of Converting from Immediate-Release Tacrolimus to Envarsus on BK Viremia Incidence in Kidney Transplant Patients with Rapid Metabolism.

BACKGROUND BK infections have been observed more frequently among people who are rapid metabolizers. The tacrolimus c/d ratio identifies rapid metabolizers after transplantation. Envarsus has a lower peak drug level exposure than tacrolimus and is more pronounced in rapid metabolizers.

Updated Pathway to Micro-elimination of Hepatitis C Virus in the Hemodialysis Population.

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection continues to be transmitted to hemodialysis (HD) patients within HD facilities globally. The goal of the World Health Organization to micro-eliminate HCV infection from the HD population by the year 2030 is not on target to be achieved. Obstacles to eliminate HCV in HD settings remain daunting due to a complex system created by a confluence of guidelines, legislation, regulation, and economics.

Impact of Subclinical Borderline Inflammation on Kidney Transplant Outcomes.

Background: Surveillance biopsies permit early detection of subclinical inflammation before clinical dysfunction, but the impact of detecting early subclinical phenotypes remains unclear.

Methods: We conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study of 441 consecutive kidney transplant recipients between 2015 and 2018 with surveillance biopsies at 6 months post-transplant. We tested the hypothesis that early subclinical inflammation (subclinical borderline changes, T cell-mediated rejection, or microvascular injury) is associated with increased incidence of a composite endpoint including acute rejection and allograft failure.

Direct Acting Antivirals in Hepatitis C-Infected Kidney Transplant Recipients: Associations with Long-term Graft Failure and Patient Mortality.

Background: Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy among hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected kidney transplant recipients is associated with short-term improvement in protein/creatinine (P/C) ratios, but how HCV cure affects long-term graft outcomes remains unknown.

Methods: This is a retrospective follow-up study of 59 HCV-infected patients who underwent kidney transplant at the University of Alabama at Birmingham between 2007-2015 who were followed until the end of 2017. We examined the association of DAA-induced HCV cure with graft failure or death by survival analyses (Kaplan-Meier, Cox regression).

Redefining the Influence of Ethnicity on Simultaneous Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation Outcomes: A 15-year Single-center Experience.

Objective: To examine the largest single-center experience of simultaneous kidney/pancreas transplantation (SPK) transplantation among African-Americans (AAs).

Background: Current dogma suggests that AAs have worse survival following SPK than white recipients. We hypothesize that this national trend may not be ubiquitous.

Direct-Acting Antivirals in Kidney Transplant Patients: Successful Hepatitis C Treatment and Short-Term Reduction in Urinary Protein/Creatinine Ratios.

Background: The role of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) clearance in kidney graft survival is unknown. We examined short-term trends of protein/creatinine (P/C) ratios in HCV-infected kidney transplant recipients treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs).

Methods: This is a retrospective study of 19 kidney transplant patients with HCV infection treated with DAAs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham between January 2013 and June 2016.