CMV Infection in Critically Ill Patients: An Epiphenomenon or Real Disease?

After primary infection, cytomegalovirus (CMV) persists -- latent -- in lymphocytes. If immunity becomes impaired (for example, due to AIDS or immunosuppressive medications), CMV may become reactivated. We now know that critical illnesses such as sepsis with organ failure can cause immunodeficiency severe enough to render patients at risk for CMV reactivation or disease. Researchers in Montpellier, France, recently conducted a retrospective case-control study to investigate CMV antigenemia in critically ill patients.

The investigators studied the records of 237 intensive care unit (ICU) patients with unexplained prolonged fever who underwent at least one CMV pp65 antigenemia assay; all had been immunocompetent on admission. Forty (17%) of th…