Assessment of Risk Factors for Cytomegalovirus DNAemia after Termination of Regular Prophylaxes after Heart Transplantation.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections after heart transplantation (HTx) can cause development of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV). Consequently, frequent monitoring and prophylaxes for CMV-DNAemia within the first weeks after HTx is regularly performed. However, CMV-DNAemia after termination of the perioperative prophylaxes is commonly observed. All adult patients undergoing HTx between September of 2010 and 2021 surviving the first 90 days (n=196) were retrospectively reviewed in September 2022. Patients were divided regarding the prevalence of CMV-DNAemia during the first postoperative year after termination of the institutional 90-day CMV prophylaxis. A total of n=35 (20.1%) developed CMV-DNAemia (CMV group) and were compared to patients without CMV-DNAemia (Controls, n=139). The remaining patients (n=22) were excluded due to incomplete data. CMV prophylaxis consisted of val-/ganciclovir as well as intravenous CMV immunoglobulin for high-risk D+/R- CMV IgG match. D+/R- and D-/R+ serology was significantly increased and D-/R- decreased in the CMV group (p<.01). In addition, mean age was 57.7±8.7 years but only 53.6±10.0 years for Controls (p=.03). Furthermore, ICU (p=.02) and total hospital stay (p=.03) after HTx was about 50% longer compared to the controls. Interestingly, incidence of CMV-DNAemia during the regular prophylaxis was only numerically increased in the CMV group (5.7% respectively.7%, p=.10), the same effect was also overserved for postoperative infective complications. Multivariate analyses could confirm that increased recipient age and D+/R- and D-/R+ CMV IgG match of donors and recipients were independent risk factors for post-prophylaxis CMV-DNAemia within the first year after heart transplantation. Our data should raise awareness for CMV-DNAemia after termination of regular prophylaxis schemes, as this affects one of five HTx patients and can contribute to the development of CAV. Especially old recipients as well as D+/R- and D-/R+ serology share an elevated risk for late CMV-DNAemia. For these patients, prolongation or repetition of CMV prophylaxis including antiviral drugs and CMV immunoglobulins may be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]