Iraqi Journal of Medical Sciences






   
Vol. 13 Issue 1 January - March / 2015
Published on website | Date : 2016-03-22 22:31:40

BK POLYOMAVIRUS-INFECTED DECOY CELLS IN URINE CYTOLOGY SPECIMENS OF RENAL TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS

Asmaa B. Al-Obaidi, Ban J. Qasim, Alaa G. Husain, Haider S. Kadhim, Manal A. Habib, Kais H. Abd, Yaarub I. Abdlqader


Abstract

Background:BK polyomavirus is one of the common post-transplant viral infections, affecting ∼15% of renal transplantation recipients (RTR), leading to graft loss in more than half of cases.
Objectives:Study the rate of detection of BK virus (BKV) in RTRs in Pap-stained urine cytology specimens.
Methods: A single center study, urine samples were collected from 99 RTR patients, with 15 Living Donors (LD) and 15 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) were taken as controls. And urine cytology smears were Pap stained for detection of decoy cells (DCs).
Results:Out of the 99 RTRs, 27 (27.3%) patients were decoy positive, 8 out of these 27 patients had uncommon DCs, and 5 out of these 27 cytology positive patients (18.5%) had biopsy proven BKV nephropathy (BKVN).
Conclusion:This study suggests that the finding of BKVN in 18.5% of the DC positive patients stresses the importance of screening for BK polyomavirus with Pap-stained urinary cytology in RTR.
Key wards:BK polyomavirus, renal transplantation, decoy cells


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