The Long-Term Effect of Hepatitis C Virus on the Outcome of Live-Donor Kidney Transplant Recipients. A Retrospective Study.

Objectives: Hepatitis C virus infection occurs frequently among end-stage renal disease patients. Moreover, its effect on long-term patient and renal graft survival is controversial. This study was performed to assess the long-term effect of hepatitis C virus on the outcome of kidney allografts.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 273 hepatitis B negative renal transplant recipients who were transplanted at Mansoura Urology and Nephrology Center, for whom hepatitis C virus RNA polymerase chain reaction results were available before transplant, and followed them for at least 17 years after transplant. We compared graft and patient survival rates between viremic group (study group) and nonviremic group (control group). We also studied posttransplant hepatic function, graft performance, and incidence of posttransplant diabetes mellitus.

Results: Hepatitis C virus was detected in sera of 195 patients (71%). No statistically significant increased risk for graft failure (P = .29) or patient death (P = .47) was found among the groups. Hepatitis C virus viremic transplant recipients had significantly greater frequencies of biochemical chronic liver disease (P = .01). However, we did not report significant differences regarding incidence, quantity of proteinuria, biopsy-proven acute rejection, chronic allograft nephropathy, and incidence of posttransplant diabetes mellitus between the studied groups.

Conclusions: Hepatitis C virus infection was shown to increase the incidence of chronic hepatitis posttransplant. However, no statistically significant adverse effect on long-term renal graft and patient survival was noted.