Brief Article
Copyright ©2009 The WJG Press and Baishideng.
World J Gastroenterol. Nov 21, 2009; 15(43): 5449-5454
Published online Nov 21, 2009. doi: 10.3748/wjg.15.5449
Table 1 Baseline characteristics of patients at enrolment
Sex (M/F)46/22
Age, median (range)59 (22-68)
BMI, median (range)24.2 (15.5-40.5)
Months since LT, median (range)15.5 (1-151)
Previous acute cellular rejection n (%)13 (19)
Days since OLT, mean36.4
Previous CMV infection n (%)14 (21)
Genotype n (%)
153 (76.5)
26 (9)
34 (6)
45 (7)
Viral load (MEq/mL), median (range)10.6 (0.009-40)
ALT (IU/L), median (range)136 (52-945)
Neutrophil count (× 103/mmc) mean ± SD3 ± 1.2
Hemoglobin (g/dL) mean ± SD12.9 ± 1.5
Cirrhosis n (%)10 (15)
Pre-LT antiviral treatment n (%)29 (45)
Post-LT antiviral treatment n (%)15 (22)
Induction immunosuppression n (%)
Monoclonal antibodies10 (14)
Steroids49 (72)
Other3 (4)
NA6 (10)
Maintenance immunosuppression n (%)
Cyclosporine30 (44)
Tacrolimus22 (32)
Cyclosporine + steroids6 (9)
Tacrolimus + steroids9 (13)
Other1 (1.5)
Table 2 Characteristics of patients developing neutropenia
G-CSFNo G-CSFP
Sex (M/F)10/13Dec-33NS
Age, median (range)60 (41-68)58 (22-67)NS
Months since LT, median (range)15 (2-151)19 (1-148)
Genotype n (%)
117 (73)36 (80)NS
22 (8.6)4 (8.8)NS
32 (8.6)2 (4.4)NS
42 (8.6)3 (6.6)NS
Neutrophil count (× 103/mmc) mean ± SD2.23 ± 0.963.14 ± 1.220.0021
Cirrhosis n (%)10 (15)
Induction immunosuppression n (%)
Monoclonal antibodies4 (17)6 (13)NS
Steroids17 (73)32 (71)NS
Other1 (3)2 (4)NS
NA1 (3)5 (1)NS
Maintenance immunosuppression n (%)
Cyclosporine10 (43)20 (44)NS
Tacrolimus8 (34)14 (31)NS
Cyclosporine + steroids1 (4)5 (11)NS
Tacrolimus + steroids3 (13)6 (13)NS
Other1 (4)0NS
Table 3 Peg-IFN and RBV dose reductions n (%)
G-CSFNo G-CSFP
RBV reduction6 (26)17 (37)0.4
RBV withdrawal4 (17)3 (6)0.2
Peg-IFN + RBV reduction2 (8)1 (2)0.2
Table 4 Causes of premature discontinuation in the two groups
Discontinuation causeG-CSF groupNon neutropenic group
Liver decompensation33
Severe asthenia21
Neutropenia1
Anemia1
Toxic hepatitis1
Non response1
Liver abscess1
De novo AIH9
De novo HBV infection1