CMV in the ICU

Active cytomegalovirus infection was significantly associated with higher mortality risk and longer hospital stay.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) remains latent in the body after primary infection and can be reactivated later in life if the immune response weakens. Critically ill patients with severe sepsis or trauma can experience CMV reactivation, even in the absence of immunosuppressive treatment. Researchers recently conducted a retrospective study among critically ill, nonimmunocompromised surgical patients to investigate the epidemiology of active CMV infection and the effects of such infection on disease course and survival. All patients had been treated at an ICU in Germany for ≥14 days.

Two hundred fifty-five blood samples from 99 such patients, originally drawn in 2001, 2003, and 2004 for red blood cell cross-matching before transfusion, had been stored…

Reviewing Author

Thomas Glück, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsConsilium Infectiorum by InfectoPharm, Infection

Thomas Glück, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsConsilium Infectiorum by InfectoPharm, Infection