Prospective study on CMV-reactivations under preemptive strategy in CMV-seropositive adult liver transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a significant infectious agent after liver transplantation. To prevent CMV, most centres use prophylaxis for high-risk CMV-seronegative recipient/seropositive donor and many even for all seropositive recipients. However, pre-emptive therapy is commonly used for seropositive patients.

OBJECTIVES

A prospective, long-term follow-up of CMV-seropositive adult liver-transplant patients under pre-emptive strategy was investigated.

STUDY DESIGN

CMV-seropositive liver recipients were monitored for CMV by real-time quantitative plasma polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and received ganciclovir/valganciclovir pre-emptive therapy. The 161 patients with follow-up of >4 years were included in the study.

RESULTS

No CMV was detected in most cases 98/161 (61%), but 63/161 (39%) developed CMV-DNAaemia mean 49 days (7-183 days) after transplantation. Only 25/63 reactivations exceeded 5000 copies/ml, which was considered as cut-off for the pre-emptive treatment by the method used (median 21,500, range 5100-813300 copies/ml) and most were self-limiting, low-level DNAaemias (median 850, range 234-4000 copies/ml). Thus, low-level temporal CMV viraemia occurred in 38/161 patients (23.5%) and only 25/161 (15.5%) demonstrated significant viral loads. Recurrent CMV appeared in one patient with low-level and in 11/25 with high-level DNAaemia, only 5/11 exceeding 5000 copies/ml. CMV infections were successfully treated with ganciclovir/valganciclovir. Four patients with low and three with high DNAaemia have been retransplanted. Five patients with low and two with high DNAaemia have died subsequently. No patient or graft was lost due to CMV.

CONCLUSIONS

Most CMV-seropositive liver recipients did not develop CMV reactivation, and if reactivations occurred, most were temporal, low-level DNAaemias. Significant CMV infections were successfully treated and recurrences were rare.