Razi Journal of Medical Sciences

    Background and Aim: Chronic liver disease and its complications are major problems in renal transplant recipients. Hepatitis B and C virus infections are currently the main causes of chronic liver disease in this group, and these may affect allograft outcome. Whether hepatitis B and C virus infections after renal transplantation adversely affect graft and patient survival, remains controversial. Therefore, the aim of present study was to determine the effects of viral hepatitis B and C on graft and patient survival who underwent renal transplantation.

Patients and methods: In this historical cohort study all 1615 patients who received renal transplants between 1986 and 2003 at Hashemi-Nejad hospital in

Tehran, Iran were assessed. In addition to demographic data, the presence of HBsAg and/or Anti-HCV antibody, the incidence of acute rejection, graft loss and patient's mortality were recorded. Short term and long term survival rates of the transplanted kidney and the patient itself were analyzed and compared using Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and Log rank test by SPSS V.11. Chi sqaure and Independent t-tests were also used for data analysis.

Results: Viral hepatitis B and C were detected in 49(3.03%) of the patients. The mean survival time of the patients and transplanted kidney was 168(SEM=7.36) and 126.50(SEM=11.50) months, respectively. The graft survival rate was 98% and 92%, at 1 and 5 years after transplantation in patients with HBsAg positivity and 100% and 100% at 1 and 5 years after transplantation in patients with anti-HCV antibody positivity.

Conclusion: The results of our study showed that HBV or HCV infection is not a contraindication for kidney transplantation in patients with end-stage renal disease. However, it should be noted that HBV and HCV-infected patients who are candidates for renal transplantation should be carefully evaluated both before and after renal transplantation.