Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging problem amongst transplant recipients. We report a patient with chronic HEV hepatitis after a heart transplant. The patient received a 3-month course of oral ribavirin (17 mg/kg/day). HEV RNA became undetectable in the serum after 1 month of treatment and remained undetectable in serum and stool samples until the last follow-up, 2 months after completion of ribavirin therapy. The values of liver function indicators returned to normal reference ranges. The main ribavirin-induced side effect was a significant but well-tolerated anemia. We confirmed that ribavirin may induce a sustained virologic response (4 months after ribavirin cessation) in heart transplant patients with chronic HEV infection. Liver cytolysis is rather common in patients after heart transplantation. Rapid evolution to liver fibrosis lesions and available anti-viral therapy highlight the need to look for HEV infection in heart transplant recipients with unexplained hepatitis.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.healun.2011.03.013DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

heart transplant
12
sustained virologic
8
virologic response
8
hepatitis virus
8
infection heart
8
heart transplantation
8
transplant recipients
8
chronic hev
8
undetectable serum
8
hev infection
8

Similar Publications

Purpose: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is associated with morbidity and mortality in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD). Several prediction models have been proposed to predict PH in ILD patients. We sought to discern how previously described prediction models perform in predicting PH in patients with ILD.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) remains a significant challenge after heart transplantation, necessitating effective surveillance methods. This review centers around the role of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in CAV surveillance, given its unique capabilities to visualize and quantify CAV in comparison with other imaging modalities, including invasive coronary angiography and intravascular ultrasound. CCTA has shown good diagnostic performance for detecting and monitoring CAV, exemplified by a higher sensitivity and negative predictive value compared with invasive coronary angiography.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: In the Netherlands, it is possible for patients to donate organs after having received euthanasia. In many cases of organ donation after euthanasia (ODE), tissues, as well as the liver, heart, kidneys, lungs, and pancreas, can be donated. The procedure for ODE is described in the national guideline for organ donation after euthanasia by the Dutch Transplant Foundation (NTS).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Emerging research has highlighted the significant role of the gut microbiota in atherosclerosis (AS), with microbiota-targeted interventions offering promising therapeutic potential. A central component of this process is gut-derived metabolites, which play a crucial role in mediating the distal functioning of the microbiota. In this study, a comprehensive microbiome-metabolite analysis using fecal and serum samples from patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and volunteers with risk factors for coronary heart disease and culture histology is performed, and identified the core strain Bacteroides ovatus (B.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We report a case of a patient with dilated cardiomyopathy who experienced recurrent ventricular tachycardia (VT) and multiple defibrillations following CRT-D implantation. Due to worsening cardiac function, the patient required surgical implantation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) as a bridge to heart transplantation. During the procedure, we used the Ensite three-dimensional mapping system to perform activation and substrate mapping of the VT targets, followed by endocardial and epicardial cryoballoon ablation of clinical VT.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!