Aims: BK virus (BKV)
infection in renal
transplant recipients is an important problem. Although pre-
transplant hemodialysis (HD)
patients undergo routine
screening for
cytomegalovirus , herpes
virus and other
viruses , and post-
transplantation receive antifungal, antibacterial and CMV prophylaxis, BKV
infection , including viruria and
viremia , has been ignored. In this study, we investigated the
prevalence of
plasma BKV positivity in 100 HD
patients . Study
Design: Prospective
observational study . Place and Duration of Study Department of
Nephrology ,
Hemodialysis and
Transplantation ,
Turkiye Higher Education Hospital , and Department of
Nephrology , Ankara Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit
Training and
Research Hospital ,
Nephrology Department,
Turkey ; between March 2014- June 2014.
Methods: The study
population consisted of 41
female and 59
male (mean age 46.1±12.3 years) HD
patients from different units (median
dialysis history 60 months; range 24–132),
who were awaiting
renal transplantation and 25 age- and
sex -matched healthy controls (10
females and 15
males ; mean age 44.6±7.8 years). The exclusion criteria for
patient selection were HD
patients with residual
diuresis and age > 65 years. Because the absence of
diuresis was among the study’s inclusion criteria, only the
prevalence of BKV in
plasma was determined using
quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction .
Results: BKV replication was not detected in the
plasma samples of either the controls or the HD
patients .
Conclusions: Whether there is virological variance and changing
virulence in BKV over
time in pre- or post-
transplant patients remains to be determined in
future studies.