Increased incidence of BK virus viraemia among patients undergoing chronic haemodialysis: a case-control study.

AIMS: Incidence of BK virus (BKV) viraemia, a major risk factor for nephropathy, among patients undergoing chronic haemodialysis remains poorly investigated. This case-control study evaluated the risk of infection by BKV, in addition to hepatitis C virus (HCV) among haemodialysis subjects (n=100), compared with age-matched controls (n=100).
METHODS: Subjects' blood plasma samples were subjected to nucleic acid extraction, followed by real-time PCR to evaluate viraemia by BKV and HCV, while sera samples were subjected to ELISA, to identify IgG seropositivity for HCV.
RESULTS: Mean age±SD was 47.8±20.4 and 48.9±17.6 years for the haemodialysis and control groups, respectively. BKV and HCV viraemia was observed among 19% versus 8% (OR 2.38, 95% CI 1.09 to 5.18; p=0.023) and 3% versus 0% (p=0.081) of the haemodialysis and control groups, respectively. Mean BK viral load±SD did not vary significantly among the two groups; 914.8±2868 versus 44.30±74.04 copies/mL for the haemodialysis and control groups, respectively (p=0.4041). HCV seropositivity rates were 6% versus 2% (p=0.149), among the haemodialysis and control groups, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: Subjects on haemodialysis may be at increased risk of nephropathy due to increased incidence of BK virus reactivations and may require optimisation of immunosuppressive therapy. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.