Oral ganciclovir versus low-dose valganciclovir for prevention of cytomegalovirus disease in recipients of kidney and pancreas transplants.

Background: The optimal regimen for prophylaxis of cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease after kidney and/or pancreas transplantation remains unclear. We compared the effectiveness of three months of oral ganciclovir (3 g/day) versus low-dose valganciclovir (450 mg/day) for CMV prophylaxis.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients at our center who received kidney and/or pancreas transplants between January 2000 and April 2003.