Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Cytomegalovirus infection (CMV) in a kidney transplant recipient (KTR) is a serious complication resulting in increased morbidity, mortality and reduced graft survival. There is limited data on early (within 3 months posttransplant) CMV infection (ECMVI) vs. late CMV infection (LCMVI) in patients not receiving CMV prophylaxis. In India, majority of kidney transplants are D + R + combination. This study aimed to compare the risk factors and outcome of ECMVI vs. LCMVI in living related post-KTR. METHODS: This was a single-center ambispective study of adult KTR from living donor between January 2001 and December 2015 who had CMV infection. This study had two cohorts: retrospective and prospective. Retrospective cohort included all KTR from January 2001 to September 2014. Prospective cohort included KTR who received transplants from October 2014 to December 2015. Of both cohorts, patients with early and late CMV infection were included. All patients received triple-drug immunosuppression. CMV infection was diagnosed when KTR had detectable CMV copies > 500/mL. In the prospective cohort, CMV PCR was done at 45 days, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months in all patients. Patients with CMV were treated on conventional lines. All patients were followed up till June 2016. RESULTS: Of 2175 retrospective cohort, 97 and of the 155 prospective cohorts 75 had CMV infection, total being 172 CMV infections. Of these, 90 patients had ECNVI and 82 LCMVI. Induction was used in 48.8% in ECMVI group vs. 35.3% in LCMVI group (p = 0.02). CNI toxicity was present prior to CMV infection in 15 (17.4%) in ECMVI as compared to 14 (17.9%) in LCMVI (P = 0.93). In the ECMVI, 6 (6.6%) had acute rejection as compared to 13 (15.8%) in the LCMVI (P = 0.05). While asymptomatic CMV infection was more common in early (63.3% vs 37.8%, P = 0.001), symptomatic CMV without tissue diagnosis was more common in late (54.8% vs. 31.1%, P = 0.002). Total duration of post-transplant follow-up was 22.8 ± 22.1 months in ECMVI as compared to 49.7 + 40.9 months in the LCMVI (P < 0.001). The serum creatinine at last follow-up was 1.9 ± 1.6 mg/dL in ECMVI group and 2.4 ± 2.0 mg/dL in LCMVI (P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: In D+/R + living renal transplant recipients, without routine CMV prophylaxis, late CMV infection had more tissue invasive disease and is associated with inferior graft function on long-term follow-up.