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©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Parvovirus B19 status in liver, kidney and pancreas transplant candidates: A single center experience
Bojana Simunov, Anna Mrzljak, Zeljka Jurekovic, Snjezana Zidovec Lepej, Ana Bainrauch, Jadranka Pavicic Saric, Zeljka Hruskar, Leona Radmanic, Tatjana Vilibic-Cavlek
Bojana Simunov, Zeljka Jurekovic, Department of Nephrology, Merkur University Hospital, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Anna Mrzljak, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Clinical Hospital Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Anna Mrzljak, Tatjana Vilibic-Cavlek, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Snjezana Zidovec Lepej, Leona Radmanic, Department of Immunological and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases “Dr. Fran Mihaljevic”, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Ana Bainrauch, Department of Medicine, Merkur University Hospital, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Jadranka Pavicic Saric, Department of Anesthesiology, Merkur University Hospital, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Zeljka Hruskar, Tatjana Vilibic-Cavlek, Department of Virology, Croatian Institute of Public Health, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Author contributions: Simunov B contributed to the concept of the study, collected and analyzed the data, and wrote the original draft; Jurekovic Z, Zidovec Lepej S, Bainaruch A, Pavicic Saric J, Hruskar Z, and Radmanic L analyzed the data; Mrzljak A and Vilibic-Cavlek T made contributions to the concept of the study, and revised the manuscript critically; all authors approved the final version of the manuscript.
Supported by the Croatian Science Foundation Project, No. IP-2020-02-7407.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Ethic Committee of the School of Medicine University of Zagreb (Approval No. 641-01/20-02/01).
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Data sharing statement: No data sharing available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See:
https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Corresponding author: Anna Mrzljak, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Clinical Hospital Zagreb, 12 Kispaticeva, Zagreb 10000, Croatia. anna.mrzljak@gmail.com
Received: July 24, 2022
Peer-review started: July 24, 2022
First decision: August 22, 2022
Revised: September 5, 2022
Accepted: September 22, 2022
Article in press: September 22, 2022
Published online: November 18, 2022
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
Parvovirus B19 (B19V) is an important pathogen in transplant settings. The epidemiology of B19V infection in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients is not well studied, and reported prevalence rates vary greatly.
Research motivation
Data on B19V infection in transplant settings are scarce.
Research objectives
To analyze the prevalence of B19V antibodies and DNA in SOT candidates (kidney, liver, or simultaneous kidney and pancreas/liver) at a large national transplant center.
Research methods
Serum samples collected before transplantation were tested for the presence of B19V IgM and IgG antibodies and B19V DNA. Patients' data were collected using the electronic medical record.
Research results
A total of 131 transplant candidates were included in the study, with 70.9% being male. The average age was 53.27 years ± 12.71 years. None of the tested patients had detectable B19V DNA and IgM, while IgG seroprevalence was 77.1%. There was no difference in seropositivity between males and females (76.3% vs 78.9%). According to age, the seroprevalence was 66.7% in those under 30 years, 80.4% in those aged 30-59 years, and 78.1% in patients over 60. The seroprevalence did not differ significantly among different organ recipients, with 77.8%, 80.6%, and 50% for liver, kidney, and simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant, respectively. There was no association between immunosuppression prior to transplantation and B19V IgG seropositivity.
Research conclusions
The B19V seroprevalence is high in transplant candidates, but 22.9% of seronegative individuals remain at risk for primary disease and severe manifestations.
Research perspectives
Further studies on large samples as well the B19V prevalence during the post-transplant period are needed to determine the clinical significance of B19V infection in transplant patients.
