About

Silviana Marineci, MD, is an Assistant Professor (Clinical) in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Utah, specializing in Nephrology & Hypertension. Her academic background includes graduate training in Nursing from Victor Babe University of Medicine and Pharmacy, and Medical training from Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai St. Luke's and Mount Sinai West, followed by fellowships in Nephrology at New York University College of Medicine and Transplant Nephrology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Marineci's clinical expertise encompasses Polycystic Kidney Disease, End Stage Renal Disease, Kidney Transplant, and Kidney & Hypertension. She is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine with a subspecialty in Nephrology. Her research includes contributions to the medical evaluation of living kidney donors with nephrolithiasis and the pharmacologic management of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. She is recognized for her thorough, caring, and professional approach to patient care, with a focus on improving health outcomes through both clinical practice and research.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Family medicine
• Surgery
• Immunology
• Biology
• Urology
• Endocrinology
• Gastroenterology
• Virology

Selected publications

• Early posttransplant rituximab use in kidney transplant recipients with preexisting donor-specific antibodies

  Renal Failure · 2026-01-25 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  DSA occurred in 31% of those who received rituximab versus in 25% of those who did not. Rituximab administration did not result difference in graft and patient survival or rejection rates or recurrence of preexisting DSA.

  PublisherDOI

• Development of BK polyomavirus-associated nephropathy risk prediction in kidney transplant recipients

  Renal Failure · 2025-05-29 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: With the development of potential prevention therapies for BK polyomavirus (BKPyV)-associated nephropathy (BKPyVAN), risk prediction models are needed to identify kidney transplant recipients at high risk for BKPyVAN. METHODS: This single-center retrospective study aimed to develop a risk prediction model and an integer-based risk score for BKPyVAN development, defined as plasma BKPyV-DNA >10,000 copies/mL and/or biopsy-proven BKPyVAN, within 1-year post-transplant, using donor and recipient characteristics at the time of transplantation. We randomly split patients into development and validation cohorts and applied logistic regression with backward selection to identify significant variables. Model performance was evaluated using the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) and calibration plots. RESULTS: This study included 560 patients, of whom 75 (13%) patients had BKPyVAN. Age >50 years, male sex, and prior kidney transplant were selected for the final model. The total integer score ranged from 0 to 4 points, with 1 point assigned for age >50 years and male sex, and 2 points for prior kidney transplant. The AUC was 0.65 in both development and validation cohorts. Calibration plots showed an incremental increase in risk with higher total scores. The integer score indicated that patients with a total score of 2 or higher (i.e. males aged >50 years or those with prior kidney transplants) have a predicted risk of 20% or greater. CONCLUSION: Although the AUC was suboptimal, the results suggest that our model may still be valuable for identifying high-risk patients.

  PublisherDOI

• Associations of Pretransplant Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Physical Function Score With Kidney Transplant Outcomes

  Transplant International · 2025-01-29 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Simple and validated physical function measures are needed for kidney transplant candidates because pretransplant low physical function is a common and potentially modifiable risk factor. This single-center retrospective study investigated the associations between pretransplant physical function assessed by the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System ® Physical Function (PROMIS-PF) computer adaptive testing and early posttransplant outcomes. We analyzed 154 adult kidney-alone transplant recipients. The median pretransplant PROMIS-PF score was 43 (interquartile range, 39–47). Patient characteristics were not significantly different across the score category (normal, score ≥45; mild, score of 40–45; and moderate/severe, score <40). The PROMIS-PF score was not associated with length of transplant hospital stay, delayed graft function, 6-month and 12-month graft function, or 12-month patient and graft survival. However, a lower PROMIS-PF score was significantly associated with a higher risk of emergency room visits [adjusted odds ratios compared to normal: mild, 1.68 (95% confidence interval, 0.76–3.83); moderate/severe, 3.23 (1.34–7.79)] and rehospitalization [adjusted odds ratios: mild, 2.61 (1.16–5.90); moderate/severe, 2.53 (1.07–6.00)] within 1 month posttransplant. Results suggest that PROMIS-PF is a practical tool for assessing physical function in kidney transplant candidates. Larger studies are needed to confirm the utility of PROMIS-PF to identify transplant candidates who would benefit from pretransplant prehabilitation.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Deceased Organ Donor HTLV Screening Practices Postelimination of Universal Screening in the United States

  Transplantation Direct · 2024

  • Medicine
  • Virology
  • Family medicine

  Background: In the United States, universal screening for human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) in deceased organ donors was discontinued in 2009. Since then, the transplant guideline suggests considering targeted screening. However, the outcomes of this change in HTLV screening have not been evaluated. Methods: Using the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database between 2010 and 2022, we analyzed the HTLV antibody screening frequency and seroprevalence in potential deceased organ donors and their correlations with HTLV infection risks, including race and high-risk behaviors for blood-borne pathogen infection. Although targeted screening has not been established for HTLV, we hypothesized that screening rates should correlate with the proportions of donors with infection risk if screening is targeted. We also evaluated the organ utilization of HTLV-seropositive donors. Results: < 0.001). However, HTLV-1 infection was not attributed as the cause of nonrecovery except for only 1 HTLV-seropositive donor. Conclusions: HTLV screening practices varied across the United States. Our findings suggest that targeted screening was not performed after the elimination of universal screening.

  PublisherDOI

• Belatacept Versus Tacrolimus for Kidney Transplant Recipients of Deceased Donors With Acute Kidney Injury: US National Database Study

  Transplantation · 2024 · 6 citations

  • Medicine
  • Urology
  • Internal medicine

  BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether kidney grafts from deceased donors with acute kidney injury (AKI) are more vulnerable to calcineurin inhibitor nephrotoxicity, and whether de novo use of belatacept is more beneficial than tacrolimus for recipients of these types of kidney transplants. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study using the US Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database, we created 1:4 matches with highly similar characteristics for recipients of AKI-donor kidneys receiving belatacept versus tacrolimus for initial maintenance immunosuppression and compared outcomes for graft function, patient and graft survival, and rejection. RESULTS: The matched cohort consisted of 567 and 2268 recipients administered belatacept and tacrolimus, respectively. Posttransplant estimated glomerular filtration rate was significantly higher in the belatacept group at 6 mo (58.2 ± 24.2 versus 54.6 ± 21.6 mL/min/1.73 m 2 , P < 0.001); however, the between-group difference did not reach statistical significance at 12 mo (57.2 ± 24.3 versus 55.7 ± 22.2 mL/min/1.73 m 2 , P = 0.057). Median follow-up periods were 3.2 and 3.1 y for patient and graft survival, respectively. There were no significant differences between belatacept versus tacrolimus for mortality (hazard ratio 1.18 [95% confidence interval, 0.95-1.47], P = 0.14) or death-censored graft failure (hazard ratio 1.17 [0.85-1.61], P = 0.33). Rejection rate within 12 mo was significantly higher in the belatacept group (13% versus 7%, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In this matched cohort study, initial use of belatacept for AKI-donor kidney recipients was associated with small benefits in early graft function when compared with tacrolimus. Although rejection risk was significantly higher in recipients administered belatacept, patient and graft survival were not significantly different between groups.

  PublisherDOI

• Kidney Transplant Outcomes in Amyloidosis: US National Database Study

  Transplantation · 2024 · 4 citations

  • Medicine
  • Internal medicine
  • Gastroenterology

  BACKGROUND: We aimed to assess contemporary transplant outcomes among kidney recipients with amyloidosis, as the treatment and prognosis of amyloidosis have shown improvement over time. METHODS: Using the US Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database, we initially evaluated the changes in patient and graft survival among kidney recipients with amyloidosis from 2002 to 2021. We then compared transplant outcomes between recipients with amyloidosis versus those with diabetic and nondiabetic causes of kidney failure, creating 1:4 matches with highly similar characteristics separately for deceased donor kidney transplant (DDKT) and living donor kidney transplant (LDKT) during the last decade (2012-2021). RESULTS: We identified 643 kidney recipients with amyloidosis during 2002-2021. Patient and death-censored graft survival improved over time. In the matching analysis for 207 DDKT and 166 LDKT recipients with amyloidosis during 2012-2021, patient survival was not significantly different between amyloidosis and diabetes groups in both DDKT (log-rank, P = 0.057) and LDKT ( P = 0.99). Compared with the nondiabetes group, patient survival in the amyloidosis group was not significantly different for DDKTs ( P = 0.56) but was significantly lower for LDKTs ( P = 0.04). Death-censored graft failure risk was not significantly different between amyloidosis and diabetes or nondiabetes groups for both DDKTs ( P = 0.78 and 0.75) and LDKTs ( P = 0.40 and 0.24). CONCLUSIONS: In this well-matched cohort study, we found no significant differences in patient and graft survival between kidney recipients with amyloidosis and those with diabetes. Similarly, these outcomes were not significantly different between those with amyloidosis versus nondiabetic causes, except for patient survival of LDKT recipients.

  PublisherDOI

• Preemptive Living Kidney Transplantation in Asymptomatic CKD Stage 4 With Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease: To Transplant or Not to Transplant? That Is the Question

  Journal of the American Society of Nephrology · 2022

  • Medicine
  • Internal medicine
  • Biology
  PublisherDOI

• Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage in Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea in a Patient With Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome

  CHEST Journal · 2014-03-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Can Pharmacologic Gradient Reduction Decrease Mortality in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy?

  Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases · 2012-05-01 · 4 citations

  review
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Marios Prikis

  4 shared

• Mark V. Sherrid

  4 shared

• Macaulay Onuigbo

  4 shared

• Junji Yamauchi

  National Center for Global Health and Medicine

  4 shared

• Dan Musat

  4 shared

• Miklos Z. Molnar

  3 shared

• Duha A. Jweehan

  3 shared

• Divya Raghavan

  University of Utah

  3 shared