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Treating Kidney Donors With Valganciclovir to Reduce Viral Transmission to Recipients

Double Blinded Placebo Controlled Study to Assess Clinical and Antiviral Activity of Valganciclovir (VAL) in Solid Organ Transplant Donors to Reduce Viral Transmission From Donor to Recipient

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT01329185
Enrollment
17
Registered
2011-04-05
Start date
2011-06-30
Completion date
2014-04-30
Last updated
2019-11-01

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

CMV Viremia, EBV Viremia

Keywords

EBV Viremia in posttransplant kidney recipients, CMV viremia in posttransplant kidney recipients

Brief summary

The aim of our study is to reduce viral (CMV and EBV) transmission from donor to recipient. The discovery that anti-retroviral therapy to mothers with HIV reduced transmission of the virus to their babies was pivotal to the prevention of AIDS and so along the same lines the investigators will test the hypothesis that 14 days of the anti-viral Valganciclovir (VAL) to kidney donors prior to the transplant compared to placebo will reduce EBV and CMV viremia in the 1st year posttransplant in pediatric kidney recipients.

Detailed description

The potency of new immunosuppressive agents has reduced the risk of the body's immune system rejecting a transplanted kidney. However, this has come with a price. Kidney transplant recipients now face a higher risk of serious infections and related malignancies. Viral infections are a significant cause of posttransplant morbidity and mortality and two of the herpes viruses have the greatest impact: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Cytomegalovirus (CMV). CMV disease can manifest posttransplant as fever, leukopenia, or mild to severe organ involvement (including pneumonitis, hepatitis, pancreatitis, colitis, meningoencephalitis, and rarely myocarditis). EBV can present posttransplant as infectious mononucleosis syndrome, hepatitis and, in the worse case scenario, a potentially fatal lymphoproliferative disorder called Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disease (PTLD). Moreover, subclinical CMV and/or EBV viremia have been associated with deterioration in kidney function in kidney transplant recipients. Thus, the potential negative impact of these viruses on the lives of transplant recipients is profound and, unfortunately, the complications of these post-transplant viral infections are common and occur despite standard antiviral prophylaxis in the first year posttransplant. These viral infections, in most instances, originate from the donor organ where these viruses reside in a dormant state, counterbalanced by the donor's healthy immune system. Upon transplantation into the recipient, whose immune system is then severely suppressed by anti-rejection drugs, these viruses become activated, often leading to the above described complications. The aim of our study is to reduce viral (CMV and EBV) transmission from donor to recipient. The discovery that anti-retroviral therapy to mothers with HIV reduced transmission of the virus to their babies was pivotal to the prevention of AIDS and so along the same lines the investigators will test the hypothesis that 14 days of the anti-viral Valganciclovir (VAL) to kidney donors prior to the transplant compared to placebo will reduce EBV and CMV viremia in the 1st year posttransplant in pediatric kidney recipients. We aim to enroll 20 donor-recipient pairs.

Interventions

DRUGValganciclovir

Valganciclovir 450mg twice a day for 14 days prior to transplant date

DRUGPlacebo

1 capsule twice a day for 14 days prior to transplant date

Sponsors

University of Minnesota
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
6 Months to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Any person approved as a kidney transplant donor with a recipient who has never undergone a previous transplantation * Kidney transplant donor must be 18 years old or older * The kidney transplant donor must be positive for CMV IgG and / or EBV IgG * The donor must be to a recipient that is discordantly seronegative for the virus for which the donor is seropositive (D+ R-) * They must have provided signed informed consent * The potential donors must be willing to contribute samples of blood and oral washings at regular intervals * The potential donor must state willingness to use effective contraception during treatment and 30 days following receiving the study drug/placebo * All females must have a negative pregnancy test * Person must have estimated creatinine clearance (Cockcroft and Gault method) \>= 60 ml/min * Person must have Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1000 cells/uL * Person must have Platelets \>= 100,000/uL * Person must have Hemoglobin \>= 9.5 g/dL

Exclusion criteria

* Any potential kidney transplant donor who is seronegative for both CMV & EBV IgG * Any potential kidney transplant donor who is receiving or have received anti-herpes medication in the past week * Any potential kidney transplant donor to a recipient who has received a previous solid organ transplant * Any potential kidney transplant donor who is immunosuppressed due to medical disease and/or immunosuppressive or immunomodulating medications * Any potential kidney transplant donor who is breast feeding during the study * Any potential kidney transplant donor who is on corticosteroids

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Incidence of EBV or CMV Related Disease in Transplant RecipientAt least 1 yearIncidence of EBV or CMV related disease in the transplant recipients of enrolled donors.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Placebo
Eligible consenting kidney transplant donors who are randomized to receive placebo will be given 1 placebo in morning and 1 in evening for 14 days prior to transplant date Placebo: 1 capsule twice a day for 14 days prior to transplant date
10
Valganciclovir
Eligible consenting kidney transplant donors who are randomized to the experimental arm of the study will receive 450mg of Valganciclovir twice a day for 14 days prior to the transplant date Valganciclovir: Valganciclovir 450mg twice a day for 14 days prior to transplant date
7
Total17

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicPlaceboValganciclovirTotal
Age, Continuous43.4 years47 years44.8 years
Region of Enrollment
United States
10 participants7 participants17 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
7 Participants6 Participants13 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
3 Participants1 Participants4 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
— / —— / —
other
Total, other adverse events
2 / 100 / 7
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 100 / 7

Outcome results

Primary

Incidence of EBV or CMV Related Disease in Transplant Recipient

Incidence of EBV or CMV related disease in the transplant recipients of enrolled donors.

Time frame: At least 1 year

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
PlaceboIncidence of EBV or CMV Related Disease in Transplant Recipient2 participants
ValganciclovirIncidence of EBV or CMV Related Disease in Transplant Recipient0 participants

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 8, 2026