Antivirals in the transplant setting

Over the past quarter of a century, antiviral drugs have moved from an experimental adventure in transplant patients to a situation where they are used routinely to prevent diseases caused by several viruses. Furthermore, they have significantly reduced several medical complications of transplantation, such as graft rejection, thereby implicating viruses as components of their pathogenesis. By controlling these major complication, the development of these antiviral drugs and their prodrugs, has therefore greatly facilitated the clinical expansion of transplantation, allowing life saving procedures to be offered to more patients who could potentially benefit. This article will briefly summaries which viruses are important following transplantation and outline the evidence-base from randomized controlled clinical trails for the deployment of antiviral drugs to prevent viral diseases.