Successful Renal Transplantation in Patients Positive for Hepatitis B Antigen

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
We examined the effect of hepatitis B antigenemia on the outcome of renal allografts. Sixteen of 116 renal-allograft recipients were hepatitis antigen (HBs Ag) positive before transplantation. These HBs AG-positive patients had a graft survival of 60.3 and 30.2 per cent at one and two years. The mortality in the positive group was 18.9 per cent, and that in the negative patients was 19.8 per cent. The results of post-transplant hepatic tests in the two groups were similar. In seven other patients HBs Ag positivity was detected after transplantation. They did not differ from other patients with transplants in either hepatic or graft function. The mean period of post-transplant HBs Ag positivity was 16.5 months in this group of 23 patients. HBs Ag antigenemia acquired before transplantation or in the post-transplant period could not be correlated with hepatic dysfunction or poor graft survival. (N Engl J Med 291:62–65, 1974)