High prevalence of GB virus-C/hepatitis G virus infection in liver transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND

To determine the prevalence of GB virus-C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) infection in liver transplant recipients transplanted for non-hepatitis C virus indications, 44 patients transplanted for cryptogenic, autoimmune, hepatitis B, or cholestatic liver disease and 91 non-liver transplantation (LT) patients with similar diagnoses seen in the same study period (control group) were studied.

METHODS

HGV RNA was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction with primers from the 5'-untranslated region.

RESULTS

GBV-C/HGV RNA was commonly detected in post-LT patients compared with the control group (28/44 [64%] vs. 13/91 [14%]; P<0.001). GBV-C/HGV infection was not related to the number of blood products transfused, a particular surgeon, or a specific liver disease. GBV-C/HGV infection also had no significant impact on the post-LT clinical profile.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that GBV-C/HGV infection is very common in LT recipients, but that it has minimal clinical impact in this population.