Renal Transplantation Update
Series Editors: V. Ram Peddi and M. Roy First: Hepatobiliary Diseases After Kidney Transplantation Unrelated to Classic Hepatitis Virus

Abstract

Multiple studies during the past decades have identified chronic liver disease as an important cause of morbidity and mortality in kidney transplant recipients. It has been reported that up to 25% of patients will have some degree of abnormal liver functions during the immediate posttransplant period. In these patients, liver failure has been implicated as the cause of death in approximately 30% of the long-term survivors. While infections from hepatitis virus remain the main cause of ongoing liver damage, many other opportunistic infections with various potential to alter liver function have also been identified. In addition, posttransplant patients are also exposed to hepatotoxic adverse effects of many pharmacotherapeutics including immunosuppressive and nonimmunosuppressive agents. Since there are numerous reports dealing with classic viral hepatitis after kidney transplantation, this review primarily focuses on post-kidney transplant liver diseases which are not due to classic hepatitis viruses.