Screening for BK virus nephropathy in kidney transplant recipients: comparison of diagnostic tests

• Main Author: Pinto,Gabriel Godinho
• Publication Date: 2016
• Other Authors: Poloni,Jose Antonio T, Rotta,Liane N., Razonable,Raymund R., Pasqualotto,Alessandro C.
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Jornal Brasileiro de Nefrologia
• Download full: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0101-28002016000300356
• topic: biopsy; BK virus; cell biology; DNA; kidney transplantation

Abstract Urine cytology and qPCR in blood and urine are commonly used to screen renal transplant recipients for polyomavirus-associated nephropathy (PVAN). Few studies, however, have directly compared these two diagnostic tests, in terms of their performance to predict PVAN. This was a systematic review in which adult (≥ 18 years old) renal transplant recipients were studied. A structured Pubmed search was used to identify studies comparing urine cytology and/or qPCR in urine and plasma samples for detecting PVAN with renal biopsy as the gold standard for diagnosis. From 707 potential papers, there were only twelve articles that matched the inclusion criteria and were analyzed in detail. Among 1694 renal transplant recipients that were included in the review, there were 115 (6.8%) patients with presumptive PVAN and 57 (3.4%) PVAN confirmed. In this systematic review, the qPCR in plasma had better performance for PVAN compared to urine cytopathology.