Suppression of CMV Infection with Letermovir in a Kidney Transplant Patient

Authors

• Uta Köpf Department of Internal Medicine I, Faculty of Medicine, University Bonn, Bonn, Germany
• Hans Ulrich Klehr KfH Kuratorium für Heimdialyse und Nierentransplantation e.V., Bonn, Germany
• Anna-Maria Eis-Huebinger Institute of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, University Bonn, Bonn, Germany
• Souhaib Aldabbagh Institute of Virology, Faculty of Medicine, University Bonn, Bonn, Germany
• Christian Strassburg KfH Kuratorium für Heimdialyse und Nierentransplantation e.V., Bonn, Germany
• Dominik Boes Department of Internal Medicine I, Faculty of Medicine, University Bonn, Bonn, Germany; KfH Kuratorium für Heimdialyse und Nierentransplantation e.V., Bonn, Germany
• Philipp Lutz Department of Internal Medicine I, Faculty of Medicine, University Bonn, Bonn, Germany

uta.koepf@ukbonn.de

Keywords

Abstract

Infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV) with resistance to ganciclovir (GCV) is a therapeutic challenge in kidney transplant patients, because standard treatment options are nephrotoxic. We report the case of a kidney transplant recipient with GCV-resistant CMV disease, in whom letermovir, a novel inhibitor of CMV packaging, was administered off-label and prevented a relapse of disease once the CMV load was decreased by cidofovir. Furthermore, we observed significant drug interactions between letermovir and tacrolimus.