Publications by authors named "Sunda Rimpler"

Article Synopsis
  • - Occult hepatitis B virus infection (OBI) is identified by HBV DNA presence in HBsAg-negative individuals; this study assessed its prevalence in chronic haemodialysis (CHD) and kidney transplant recipients (KTxR).
  • - Among 417 CHD patients, there were no cases of OBI, while KTxR had a very low prevalence (<1%) of OBI, with one HBsAg-negative patient testing positive for HBV DNA in serum.
  • - Findings suggest routine HBV DNA screening isn't necessary for CHD patients, but pretransplant screening for KTxR is advisable; testing HBV DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) appears unnecessary. *
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Background & Aims: Detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and/or hepatocytes in absence of HCV RNA in serum, designated as 'occult HCV infection', has been a matter of controversy in recent years. We investigated for the first time the prevalence of occult HCV infection in large cohorts of chronic hemodialysis (CHD) and kidney transplant (KTx) patients.

Methods: We enrolled 417 CHD patients, 417 KTx recipients and 2 control groups - 25 anti-HCV (antibody against HCV)-positive and HCV RNA-positive patients with chronic hepatitis C, and 40 anti-HCV-, HCV RNA-, and HBsAg-negative healthy subjects.

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