Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-8662
Authors: | Bu, Julia Bing Grabitz, Stephanie D. Pfeiffer, Norbert Wasielica-Poslednik, Joanna |
Title: | Prevalence of herpesvirus DNA in corneal transplant recipients |
Online publication date: | 8-Feb-2023 |
Year of first publication: | 2023 |
Language: | english |
Abstract: | Purpose: Graft failure after penetrating keratoplasty (PK) is a serious complication, especially in eyes with herpetic keratitis (HK). This study evaluated the prevalence and graft survival of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and varicella zoster virus (VZV) DNA in recipient corneas during PK. Methods: The retrospective study was performed at the Department of Ophthalmology at University Hospital in Mainz, Germany. We analyzed data from every patient who underwent PK between January 2020 and June 2021. According to our clinical routine, we performed HSV-1 and VZV polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on all excised corneal buttons regardless of the primary clinical diagnosis. Results: We included 112 eyes of 112 consecutive patients who underwent PK. At the time of PK, 91 (81.25%) patients had no history of HK and 21 (18.75%) patients did. The recipient corneas of 91 patients without a history of HK tested positive for HSV-1 DNA in 12 (13.2%) eyes, for VZV DNA in 3 (3.3%) eyes, and for HSV-1 and VZV DNA simultaneously in 2 (2.2%) eyes. The recipient corneas of 21 patients with a preoperative history of HK tested positive for HSV-1 DNA in 13 (61.9%) eyes and VZV DNA in 1 (4.8%) eye. All patients with positive herpes DNA and no history of HK prior to PK received antiherpetic treatment and had a 100% graft survival rate after 1 year. Conclusions: We found herpesvirus DNA in 18.7% of recipient corneas without clinical suspicion or history of herpes keratitis. This suggests the need of routine HSV-1 and VZV PCR testing in all explanted corneas regardless of clinical suspicion, to detect, treat and prevent possible recurrence of herpes infection in corneal grafts and support graft survival. |
DDC: | 610 Medizin 610 Medical sciences |
Institution: | Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz |
Department: | FB 04 Medizin |
Place: | Mainz |
ROR: | https://ror.org/023b0x485 |
DOI: | http://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-8662 |
Version: | Published version |
Publication type: | Zeitschriftenaufsatz |
Document type specification: | Scientific article |
License: | CC BY |
Information on rights of use: | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Journal: | Journal of Clinical Medicine 12 1 |
Pages or article number: | 289 |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Publisher place: | Basel |
Issue date: | 2023 |
ISSN: | 2077-0383 |
Publisher DOI: | 10.3390/jcm12010289 |
Appears in collections: | DFG-491381577-G |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
prevalence_of_herpesvirus_dna-20230126110706671.pdf | 241.18 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |