Cytomegalovirus Infection in Postrenal Transplant Recipients: 18 Years’ Experience From a Tertiary Referral Center

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation or infection is one of the most important infectious complications in transplant recipient leading to significant morbidity and mortality. Its early detection and prompt treatment is imperative to improve transplant outcome. The present study estimated the frequency of CMV in renal transplant recipients (RTR). Various aspects of pp65Ag assay and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were evaluated in relation to the recent guidelines for CMV detection and treatment. Retrospectively, data of clinically suspected cases of CMV (1610 out of total 2681 renal transplants) were analyzed along with a comparison of pp65Ag assay and qRT-PCR. The overall incidence of CMV syndrome was 14.25%; however, the incidence of CMV viremia in the clinically suspected group was 23.73%. The proportion of positive cases with pp65Ag assay and qRT-PCR were 13.6% (95% CI; 7.9-22.3) and 19.3% (95% CI; 12.4-28.8) with a substantial agreement (Cohen’s kappa = 0.632) between the 2 techniques. CMV positive recipients were treated with ganciclovir until their viral count was negative or up to 3 weeks, followed by 3 months of prophylaxis with valganciclovir. No graft failure or mortality was reported secondary to CMV infection until 3 to 5 years of follow-up. CMV infection is quite prevalent in RTR, and early detection and immediate treatment or prophylaxis is of utmost importance. qRT-PCR is the gold standard and preferred over other methods; however pp65Ag assay still holds its importance in low-economic countries and populations where CMV infection is more prevalent and financial constraints are a major limitation.