Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2011 May;11(5):1071-8.
doi: 10.1111/j.1600-6143.2011.03490.x.

Respiratory viruses in lung transplant recipients: a critical review and pooled analysis of clinical studies

D-L Vu  1 , P-O Bridevaux, J-D Aubert, P M Soccal, L Kaiser
Affiliations
Review

Respiratory viruses in lung transplant recipients: a critical review and pooled analysis of clinical studies

D-L Vu et al. Am J Transplant. 2011 May.

Abstract

Lung transplant recipients present an increased risk for severe complications associated with respiratory infections. We conducted a review of the literature examining the clinical relationship between viral respiratory infection and graft complications. Thirty-four studies describing the clinical impact of influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza, human metapneumovirus, rhinovirus, enterovirus, coronavirus, bocavirus or adenovirus were identified. The detection rate of respiratory viral infection ranged from 1.4% to 60%. Viruses were detected five times more frequently when respiratory symptoms were present [odds ratio (OR) = 4.97; 95% CI = 2.11-11.68]. Based on available observations, we could not observe an association between respiratory viral infection and acute rejection (OR = 1.35; 95% CI = 0.41-4.43). We found a pooled incidence of 18% (9/50) of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) in virus-positive cases compared to 11.6% (37/319) in virus-negative cases; however, limited number of BOS events did not allow to confirm the association. Our review confirms a causal relationship between respiratory viruses and respiratory symptoms, but cannot confirm a link between respiratory viruses and acute lung rejection. This is related in part to the heterogeneity and limitations of available studies. The link with BOS needs also to be reassessed in appropriate prospective studies.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Odds ratio of (a) respiratory symptoms and (B) acute graft rejection according to the presence or absence of respiratory viral infections in lung transplant recipients. 
 1Biopsy‐proven.
2Biopsy‐proven or FEV decline >/=
20%.
*Random effect.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Palmer SM, Henshaw NG, Howell DN et al Community respiratory viral infection in adult lung transplant recipients. Chest 1998; 113: 944–950. - PubMed
    1. McCurdy LH, Milstone A, Dummer S. Clinical features and outcomes of paramyxoviral infection in lung transplant recipients treated with ribavirin. J Heart Lung Transplant 2003; 22(7):745–753. - PubMed
    1. Garbino J, Gerbase MW, Wunderli W et al Lower respiratory viral illnesses: Improved diagnosis by molecular methods and clinical impact. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2004; 170: 1197–1203. - PubMed
    1. Garbino J, Gerbase MW, Wunderli W et al Respiratory viruses and severe lower respiratory tract complications in hospitalized patients. Chest 2004; 125: 1033–1039. - PubMed
    1. Milstone AP, Brumble LM, Barnes J et al A single‐season prospective study of respiratory viral infections in lung transplant recipients. Eur Respir J 2006; 28: 131–137. - PubMed

Publication types