Background
BK virus nephi opathy (BKVN) is a significant complication in kidney transplant recipients, resulting in gratt dysfunction and potentially leading to graft loss. This study aims to investigate the incidence and outcomes o1 BKVN in kidney transplant recipients receiving ste- roid-free maintenance immunosuppression in a Latin -American cohort.
Methods
Case series study of BKVN among kidney transplant recipients who underwent transplantation between 2008 and 2023. The primary outcome was gratt loss caused by iIKVN, excluding death with function. Secondary outcomes included graft function and acute rejection episodes. The statistical analysis involved descriptive statistics and the Kaplan-Meier (K-M) method to plot the overall probabilities of not initiating dialysis.
Results
During the 15-year period, 2236 kidney transplants were performed, BKVN was his- tologically diagnosed in 38 kidney recipients and 33 cases were analyzed. Median age was 50 years and men were 48.5% of patients. A total of 45.4% of BKVN occurred within the first 12 months of transplant. In addition, the incidence of BKVN was 1.69c but it varied by era. The rate ot gratt lo,ss was 75.79c (25 cases). The K-M graft survival probability at 6 months and 12 month,s after diagnosis o1 BKVN was 38.39a (95 to CI 24.7—59.4) and 22.39c (95la CI 11.7—42.8), respectively.
Conclusion
BKVN affected 1.69c of transplant recipients and it was associated with high-rate of graft loss. We observed that significant gratt disfunction at the time of diagnosis resulted in worse outcomes with a reduced probability of graft survival.
Keywords
Kidney Transplantation; BK Virus; Graft Survival; Graft Rejection