High quality diagnostic testing is important for transplant patients at every step of the process. It is used to help prevent and/or control infection and adapt immunosuppressive therapy as necessary. 

The association of immune response markers and viral monitoring is the way to improve the management of transplant patients and, more generally, of immunocompromised patients. Transplant patient care is complicated because patients are at risk for a wide range of viral infections, and a wide variety of different sample types may be used.

The healthcare burden associated with patient transplants can be significant due to various factors involved in the process. Transplantation is a complex and costly medical procedure that requires extensive research, resources, expertise, and ongoing care. 

Viral infections/reactivations remain a major complication for transplant patients. Such infections are made possible by sustained immunosuppression and the immunomodulating effects of the co-infecting viruses. In fact, more than 90% of the opportunistic infections in solid organ transplant (SOT) patients occur in individuals with infection with one or more of these co-infecting viruses.

Not only does managing these infections require additional healthcare resources, including hospitalizations, medications, and treatments, but the mental and physical toll these types of infections have on transplant patients is immense.  

Our transplant offer includes a comprehensive solution with automated systems and reliable tests for different stages in the patient’s transplant journey: 

Detecting Active Viral Infections:

By using our quantitative real-time PCR assays to monitor patients, at prede­fined intervals after transplantation, clinicians can detect active infections (primary infections and/or reactivations) before symptoms arise. Clinicians can then initiate adapted therapy which includes both anti-viral therapy and/or adjustment of immunosuppressive therapy. A quantitative follow-up showing a signi­ficant increase of the viral load could be a very early predictive indicator of an active viral infection. During treatment, the viral load measurement and its kinetics indicate the effectiveness of the treatment. Monitoring by quantitative assays is usually done in whole blood or plasma.

Our real-time PCR assays enable rapid and speci­fic detection of various viral infections prior to viral diseases. This is of vital importance in the management of the transplant patients, to prevent rejection and to allow patient survival.

Tailored Transplant Patient Management

Graft success after transplant surgery requires a fine balance of immunosuppression to prevent both rejection and opportunistic infections. The use of immune biomarkers, such as our Torque Teno Virus (TTV assay) for detection and quantification is a promising innovation for transplant patient management. Immune biomarkers are of vital importance in the management of transplant patients, to prevent rejection and to allow patient survival.

bioMérieux is currently part of a European Clinical Study for TTV: Torque Teno Virus Based Immune Monitoring, read Our Story.

We offer a complete and flexible solution with proven automated systems, reliable quality reagents for extraction and transplant viral monitoring, and modular setup for optimal integration in the laboratory.