Introduction:

Hepatitis C virus infection is a common event in kidney transplant recipients that has dragged it along since their stay in hemodialysis treatments prior to implantation. Positivity to virus C has been associated with an unfavorable evolution after transplantation, due to higher frequency of clinical, metabolic and immunological complications that negatively affect both graft and patient survival.

Objectives:

To describe the clinical evolution of kidney transplant patients with positive hepatitis C virus and to determine the evolution of this group of patients according to demographic, clinical and survival variables.

Method:

An analytical, cross-sectional, retrospective study in kidney transplant patients at Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital was carried out from 2005 to 2017. This study excluded children under 15 years of age, re-transplants, double and combined transplants or when it was not possible to gather the information. The variables chosen among patients who arrive at transplantation with positive serology for virus C (positive HCV) were compared with negative HCV.

Results:

One hundred and fifty six patients were the total, 65% (102) were HVC positive, no differences were found between groups in terms of age and sex of recipients and donors, nor in the immunosuppressive treatment used. The living donor was less used in positive HVC where more patients with polycystic kidney disease were found. Acute tubular necrosis (ATN) and rejection were more frequent in positive HVC, the former being statistically significant, p = 0.0421, proteinuria, p = 0.041, elevation was also significantly more frequent in the positive HVC group of liver enzymes, p = 0.047 and post-transplant diabetes, p = 0.047. Graft and patient survival was lower in positive HCV.

Conclusions:

In this study, hepatitis C virus has negative impact on the evolution of the graft and favors the appearance of some clinical complications, which undoubtedly could influence a shorter life expectancy for both the graft and the patient.

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