Cytomegalovirus (CMV), the most significant infectious cause of morbidity following renal transplantation, may be a greater problem for children than for adults due to their relative lack of experience with this virus. Therefore, we prospectively gave Gammagard® as prophylaxis to CMV-negative children who received CMV-positive allografts and compared the results to our experience with similar high-risk recipients transplanted prior to our use of intravenous immunoglobulin G (IvIgG). Symptomatic CMV disease developed in 17% of the IvIgG recipients as compared with 71% of the untreated patients (p = 0.01). The CMV infections that did occur in IvIgG recipients developed significantly later than in untreated children (median time of onset after transplantation 2.60 vs. 1.35 months; p < 0.05) and generally were less severe, although 1 IvIgG recipient died despite prophylaxis. IvIgG administration did not affect the frequency of rejection or graft or patient survival. We conclude that IvIgG administration to high-risk pediatric renal transplant recipients may protect against posttransplantation CMV disease and may lessen the severity of infections that do develop in patients who receive it.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.