Ribavirin for Chronic HEV Infection in Solid-Organ Transplant Recipients

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) can cause chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis in immunosuppressed patients, including solid-organ transplant recipients. There are no randomized studies to define optimal therapy. Now, in a retrospective, multicenter case series, investigators in France have analyzed the effect of ribavirin (RBV) monotherapy on chronic HEV infection in solid-organ transplant recipients.

Of the 59 patients evaluated, 37 were kidney-transplant recipients, 10 were liver-transplant recipients, and the remainder had received various other organs. Most were receiving immunosuppressive therapy (e.g., calcineurin inhibitors in 80% and glucocorticoids in 75%). The interval between transplantation and RBV initiation varied from <1 to >20 years. The…