Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-1-2015
Description
Case reports describe significant norovirus gastroenteritis morbidity in immunocompromised patients. We evaluated norovirus pathogenesis in prospectively enrolled solid organ (SOT) and hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients with diarrhea who presented to Texas Children's Hospital and submitted stool for enteric testing. Noroviruses were detected by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Clinical outcomes of norovirus diarrhea and non-norovirus diarrhea patients, matched by transplanted organ type, were compared. Norovirus infection was identified in 25 (22%) of 116 patients, more frequently than other enteropathogens. Fifty percent of norovirus patients experienced diarrhea lasting ≥14 days, with median duration of 12.5 days (range 1–324 days); 29% developed diarrhea recurrence. Fifty-five percent of norovirus patients were hospitalized for diarrhea, with 27% requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission. One HSCT recipient developed pneumatosis intestinalis. Three HSCT patients expired ≤6 months of norovirus diarrhea onset. Compared to non-norovirus diarrhea patients, norovirus patients experienced significantly more frequent ICU admission (27% vs. 0%, p = 0.02), greater serum creatinine rise (median 0.3 vs. 0.2 mg/dL, p = 0.01), and more weight loss (median 1.6 vs. 0.6 kg, p < 0.01). Noroviruses are an important cause of diarrhea in pediatric transplant patients and are associated with significant clinical complications.
Citation Information
Ye, X.; Van, J. N.; Munoz, F. M.; Revell, P. A.; Korinetz, Claudia A.; Krance, R. A.; Atmar, R. L.; Estes, M. K.; and Koo, H. L.. 2015. Noroviruses as a Cause of Diarrhea in Immunocompromised Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell and Solid Organ Transplant Recipients. American Journal of Transplantation. Vol.15(7). 1874-1881. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajt.13227 ISSN: 1600-6143
Copyright Statement
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Ye, X., Van, J. N., Munoz, F. M., Revell, P. A., Kozinetz, C. A., Krance, R. A., … Koo, H. L. (2015). Noroviruses as a Cause of Diarrhea in Immunocompromised Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell and Solid Organ Transplant Recipients. American Journal of Transplantation, 15(7), 1874–1881, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/ajt.13227. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. The document is an author manuscript from PMC.