A BLOOD-SAMPLE AS A VIROLOGICAL MARKER OF CYTOMEGALOVIRUS-INFECTION IN LIVER AND HEART-TRANSPLANT PATIENTS

BACKGROUND: Tb evaluate the utility of blood, saliva and urine samples as virological markers of cytomegalovirus infection in liver and hear t transplant recipients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients (68 liver, 21 heart) with a minimum follow up of two months after the transplant dat e, were included. We performed tube and shell vial cultures in all typ es of samples. In addition, cytomegalovirus antigenemia assay was carr ied out on blood specimens. RESULTS: A 97.2% of 36 patients with cytom egalovirus active infection were detected by using blood samples, in c omparison with the 86.1% by saliva and 63.9% by urine, but differences were only statistically significant when considering the liver transp lant patients subgroup. Moreover, blood samples allowed to detect the infection a mean of 19 days earlier than detection in saliva and/or ur ine. The most sensitive technique in blood was the antigenemia assay ( 94.7% of infected patients), followed by the shell Vial method (85.3%) and conventional culture (73.3%). The former yields earlier results t han culture methods, with a mean of 5 days. CONCLUSIONS: Cytomegalovir us detection in blood samples showed a higher sensitivity in compariso n with detection in urine and/or saliva, and was an earlier marker of infection in these patients. We recommend the antigenemia assay and th e shell vial culture in blood samples because of their sensitivity, ra pidity, and simplicity.