Abstract

Objective: Haemorrhagic cystitis associated with BK virus (BKV) is a common and life-threatening complication in patients with haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). In this study, we aimed to investigate the incidence of BKV infection in children with HSCT.

Methods: A total of 21 patients aged 7 months to 16 years followed between July 2014 and July 2015 were included in the study. 19 of the patients received allogeneic HSCT and 2 received autologous HSCT. artus® BK Virus RG PCR Kit (Qiagen GmbH, Hilden, Germany) was used for detection of BKV DNA in urine and blood samples.

Results: BKV infection was detected in 10 (47%) of 21 patients. Cystitis due to BKV developed in 4 (19%) of the patients. Haemorrhagic cystitis was observed to appear at a median of 23 days after HSCT. Urinary viral load was found to be >108 copies/µl within the previous week before the development of cystitis, and this finding has been accepted as a prognostic indicator. On the other hand, viral load in blood increased to >104 copies/µl after 21-28 days from the onset of cystitis. All patients with cystitis were allogeneic HSCT recipients under myeloablative therapy (high-intensity regimen) for conditioning regimen.

Conclusions: Screening of HSCT recipients for BKV infection, especially for viruria, is important for establishing the predictive diagnosis of patients at high risk for haemorrhagic cystitis and for better management of their treatment.

Cite this article as: Kaya NN, Bayram İ, Şeflek B, et al. [Investigation of BK virus infections in haematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients].  Klimik Derg. 2018; 31(2): 148-52. Turkish.