Viral Respiratory Tract Infection During the First Postoperative Year Is a Risk Factor for Chronic Rejection After Lung Transplantation

Magnusson, Jesper; Westin, Johan; Andersson, Lars-Magnus; Lindh, Magnus; Brittain-Long, Robin; Nordén, Rickard; Riise, Gerdt C.

The median rate of viral infections was 1/patient; 30 patients suffered more than 1 viral infection, whereas 47 patients had no viral infections. Six patients were positive for more than 1 virus in at least 1 sample, in total, 14 such samples were detected. In 19 patients, the same virus was found in at least 2 consecutive samples at least 3 weeks apart. For the VRTI-positive patients, the mean time to first viral infection after LTx was 16.5 weeks. A majority of the detected viruses were hRV (57.6%), followed in frequency by CoV (19.2%) (Figure 2 ). Human rhinovirus were detected across all seasons and CoV mostly during winter and spring (Figure 3 ). In 10 samples, RSV was detected, and in another 6 samples, enterovirus was detected. Metapneumovirus, parainfluenza and adenovirus were all detected in 5 samples or fewer. Only 3 cases of influenza virus were detected. No patients were treated with antiviral drugs. All patients were vaccinated against influenza before transplantation.