European guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of adenovirus infection in leukemia and stem cell transplantation: summary of ECIL-4 (2011)

Human adenovirus (HAdV) infections are increasingly recognized as important pathogens in immunocompromised hosts, especially in patients with severely suppressed T‐cell function. The 4th European Conference of Infections in Leukemia (ECIL‐4) has developed evidence‐based guidelines for diagnosis and management of HAdV infections. The risk for HAdV‐associated disease is increased in children, and risk factors for HAdV disease are T‐cell depletion, unrelated and cord blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, graft‐versus‐host disease grades III–IV, and lymphopenia. The recommended technique for monitoring of high‐risk patients is quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Cidofovir is the most used antiviral therapy, although no controlled study has been performed. HAdV‐specific T‐cell therapy is in development.