The Noninvasive Urinary Polyomavirus Haufen Test Predicts BK Virus Nephropathy in Children after Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: A Pilot Study

Benjamin L. Laskin, Harsharan K. Singh, Ulf H. Beier, Taylor Moatz, Susan L. Furth, Nancy Bunin, David Witte, Jens Goebel, Stella M. Davies, Christopher Dandoy, Sonata Jodele, Volker Nickeleit

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background After hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), polyoma-BK virus is associated with hemorrhagic cystitis and also with polyomavirus nephropathy (PVN). However, the true burden of post-HCT PVN is unknown because kidney biopsies are avoided due to their bleeding risk. The novel, noninvasive urinary PV-Haufen test detects PVN in kidney transplant recipients with greater than 95% positive/negative predictive values. We hypothesized that the detection of PV-Haufen in voided urine samples - a positive PV-Haufen test - was also clinically significant after HCT. Methods We examined 21 suitable urine samples from 14 patients (median age, 15 years; 71.4% male) who were selected from repositories for having varying degrees of BK viremia (range, 0-1.0 × 10 8 copies/mL), hemorrhagic cystitis (present/absent), and data on kidney function. Urine samples were obtained at a median of 88 days post-HCT. Results The PV-Haufen were detected in 5 of 14 patients (35.7%) and 7 of 21 (33.3%) urine samples, with histologic confirmation of PVN in 1 autopsy specimen. After a median of 285 days post-HCT, patients with PV-Haufen had an increased risk of dialysis-dependent renal failure (P < 0.05). All 3 dialysis-dependent patients had PV-Haufen and died. The presence of urinary PV-Haufen was not significantly correlated with hemorrhagic cystitis. From the 16 urines collected during BK viremia, 43.8% were PV-Haufen-positive, and 56.2% were negative. The PV-Haufen were not present in the 5 urines from patients without concomitant BK-viremia. Conclusions In this proof-of-concept study, a positive PV-Haufen test was only seen in some patients with BK viremia and was not associated with hemorrhagic cystitis. The detection of PV-Haufen suggests underlying PVN with an increased risk of kidney failure and dialysis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)e81-e87
JournalTransplantation
Volume100
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1 2016

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Transplantation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The Noninvasive Urinary Polyomavirus Haufen Test Predicts BK Virus Nephropathy in Children after Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: A Pilot Study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this