Impact of Extrahepatic Complications (Diabetes and Glomerulonephritis) Associated with Hepatitis C Virus Infection after Renal Transplantation

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with some extrahepatic complications, like diabetes, cryoglobulinemia, and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. Each of these complications has important implications in the renal allograft recipient. Hence, HCV infection is strongly associated with a lower patient and graft survival in renal transplantation. The increased risk of death in HCV-infected renal allograft recipients has been attributed to cardiovascular mortality, linked someway to the insulin resistance and high risk of new-onset diabetes, rather than to the progression of HCV-related liver disease. On the other hand, graft survival is hampered by the occurrence of de novo HCV-related glomerulonephritis and the higher risk of chronic humoral rejection in this population. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel