Unexplained chronic anemia and leukopenia in lung transplant recipients secondary to parvovirus B19
June 29th, 2008 | by admin |Unexplained chronic anemia and leukopenia in lung transplant recipients secondary to parvovirus B19 infection.
Parvovirus B19 (PVB) is a non-enveloped, single-stranded DNA virus of the Parvoviridae family pathogenic to humans. Despite numerous case reports of pure red cell aplasia in lung transplant (LT) recipients after PVB infection, the epidemiology remains poorly outlined. Over a 3-year period, 3 of 54 LT patients with unexplained anemia tested positive for circulating PVB by a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. All of these patients presented with anemia and leukopenia, with a favorable long-term prognosis.
Shekar K, Hopkins PM, Kermeen FD, Dunning JJ, McNeil KD.
Queensland Heart-Lung Transplant Unit, The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. kiran_shekar@health.qld.gov.au