| Fulminant hepatic failure due to adenovirus infection is a rare complication following stem cell transplantation. We report this complication in an unrelated bone marrow transplant recipient 30 weeks post-transplant. Treatment with intravenous ribavirin was started within 36 h of admission, but he succumbed to unusually fulminant hepatic failure. Adenovirus type 2 was isolated from stool surveillance samples and from post-mortem liver samples. Adenovirus dna was detected by PCR in blood and sputum samples at admission and was identified in post-mortem liver tissue by electron microscopy. Implications of the failure of ribavirin therapy are discussed. ( info) |
| Adenoviruses are increasingly realised to be responsible for serious morbidity and mortality following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. We describe a case of fulminant hepatic failure due to adenovirus serotype 2 in a 39-year-old woman who received a matched sibling allogeneic bone marrow transplant for multiply relapsed Hodgkin's disease. Isolated fulminant hepatic failure caused by this serotype of adenovirus has not previously been described. ( info) |
3/138. Haemorrhagic cystitis associated with adenovirus in a patient with AIDS treated for a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Adenovirus-induced haemorrhagic cystitis has been reported chiefly in bone marrow or kidney transplant recipients. We report here on an hiv-positive patient treated for a Burkitt's lymphoma who developed gross haematuria associated with fever and burning urination. Usual causes of haematuria were ruled out: lithiasis, urinary tract lesions, glomerulonephritis, mycobacterium and schistosoma infections, and drug toxicity. Adenovirus was detected by cellular cultures and BK/jc virus dna sequences were detected using a polymerase chain reaction method. Because BK/JC virus shedding is very common (75%) in hiv patients receiving chemotherapy, our data strongly suggest that adenovirus was responsible for the haemorrhagic cystitis in our patient. In conclusion, adenovirus should be considered as a potential cause of haemorrhagic cystitis in AIDS patients whose immunosuppression is aggravated by cytotoxic drugs. ( info) |
4/138. Intravesicular instillation of E-aminocaproic acid for patients with adenovirus-induced hemorrhagic cystitis. Hemorrhagic cystitis (HC) is a known complication of allogenic BMT. We report a case of a 28-year-old female with CML in chronic phase, which was treated with a matched unrelated donor (MUD) transplant, complicated by hemorrhagic cystitis on day 42 after the transplant. Adenovirus was isolated from the urine and she was treated with ribavirin, 1 g twice a day for 8 days. We report the use of Amicar (E-aminocaproic acid), 2.5 g solution as bladder instillation to treat the intractable hematuria. ( info) |
5/138. Oral absorption of tacrolimus in children with intestinal failure due to short or absent small bowel. We describe two children with intestinal failure due to short or absent small bowel who underwent isolated liver transplantation for liver disease related to parenteral nutrition. Both received reduced-size liver grafts whilst awaiting a suitable small bowel donor. Immunosuppressive therapy was based on oral tacrolimus and intravenous steroids. Therapeutic levels of tacrolimus were achieved at low dosage of 0.14-0.28 mg/kg per day. Median and mean blood tacrolimus levels were 9.9 and 13.7 ng/ml (range 4.9-42.3 ng/ml) in case 1 and 5.8 and 7.2 ng/ml (range 1-30 ng/ml) in case 2 before small bowel transplantation, respectively. Following small bowel transplantation, levels were 17.1 and 20.1 ng/ml (range 9.2-30 ng/ml), with oral doses of 0.54-1.35 mg/kg per day. Both children died of adenovirus pneumonia, with functioning grafts. Our experience demonstrates that effective levels of immunosuppression can be achieved by oral administration of tacrolimus in children with short or absent small bowel. ( info) |
6/138. Cardiac troponin i in fulminant adenovirus myocarditis treated with a 24-hour infusion of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin. We report a successful outcome on an acute adenovirus myocarditis treated with a 24-hour high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (24-HDIVIG) in a 4.5-year-old girl. A postviral etiology of acute myocarditis was assessed on the basis of the polymerase chain reaction technique. Among other early markers of cardiac injury, cardiac isoform of troponin-I (cTnI) was significantly correlated to the left ventricular ejection fraction (r = -0.86, p < 0.0001). Follow-up of cTnI, which might also be correlated to the short-term outcome, allows fast, easy, and noninvasive estimation of response to the aggressive treatment with 24-HDIVIG in acute adenovirus myocarditis in children. ( info) |
7/138. Adenovirus infections following haematopoietic cell transplantation: is there a role for adoptive immunotherapy? Adenovirus has been recognised as an important pathogen in BMT recipients, especially in patients with GVHD and those receiving T cell-depleted allografts. We report adenovirus infections from an ongoing surveillance study in four patients after a non-myeloablative transplant and their improved outcome following withdrawal of immunosuppression in two patients and donor lymphocyte infusion for relapsed disease in the others. We discuss the control of adenovirus infections following immune manipulations and the feasibility of adoptive immunotherapy for post-transplant adenovirus infections. ( info) |
8/138. Adenovirus and non-gonococcal urethritis. Non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) is a common problem presenting to sexual health clinics that is usually managed empirically. In many cases the aetiology is never clearly established or further investigated. Adenovirus has been identified in the past as an occasional cause of NGU but little has been written about its clinical presentation. We present a case report of 6 men who were diagnosed with NGU caused by adenovirus infection, along with a review of the relevant literature, with the aim of improving clinical recognition of this pathogen. ( info) |
9/138. Intravenous ribavirin and hyperammonemia in an immunocompromised patient infected with adenovirus. ribavirin is a synthetic guanosine analog with activity against dna and rna viruses. It was studied in human trials, and no marked adverse effect was reported beyond the potential for teratogenicity and reversible mild anemia. An 8-year-old girl received a multivisceral transplant and developed adenoviral pneumonia. She was treated with intravenous ribavirin and became hyperammonemic. Discontinuation of ribavirin led to a decrease in ammonia levels. This pattern was repeated when the drug was restarted and discontinued. We hypothesize that in a toxic environment the interaction of ribavirin with hepatocellular mitochondrial enzymes may lead to hyperammonemia. ( info) |
| We report a case of fatal hydrops fetalis owing to adenoviral endomyocarditis with aortic and pulmonary valve stenosis. A 1850-g macerated male stillborn delivered 1 week after fetal ultrasonography showed hydrops, cardiomegaly, and possible aortic valve stenosis. autopsy confirmed hydrops and showed thickened, fibrotic semilunar valves with stenosis. The myocardium was focally fibrotic with areas of calcification. polymerase chain reaction study of myocardial and aortic valve tissue was positive for adenovirus. Intrauterine viral myocarditis has been reported only rarely, but cases owing to Coxsackie B virus, adenovirus, and parvovirus B19 have appeared in the literature. With the exception of rubella, viral causation of significant valvular lesions in humans has received scanty support in the literature. This report suggests a broader group of causative agents. HUM PATHOL 31:1433-1435. ( info) |