title: Treatment of interstitial pneumonitis due to cytomegalovirus with ganciclovir and intravenous immune globulin: experience of European Bone Marrow Transplant Group.
abstract: Data on 49 allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT) recipients who developed interstitial pneumonia due to cytomegalovirus (CMV) were collected retrospectively. All patients were treated with ganciclovir and high doses of intravenous immune globulin, although types of immune globulins and schedules of treatment varied. Seventeen (35%) of 49 patients responded to treatment. Thirty days after the diagnosis of interstitial pneumonia, the survival rate among patients was 31%. CMV was detected in 81% of patients on whom autopsies were performed. The survival rate among patients who received total body irradiation (TBI) was significantly lower (11 [27%] of 41) than that among patients who did not receive TBI (six [75%] of eight; odds ratio = 12.3; P = .009). No other factor, including age, grade of graft-versus-host disease, types and dose of immune globulin used, or dose of ganciclovir, was correlated to survival. These results show that although survival of allogeneic BMT recipients with CMV interstitial pneumonia has improved, more than one-half of the patients still died of pneumonia. Thus, both prophylaxis for and treatment of CMV infection must be improved.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Huddinge University Hospital, Sweden.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ljungman
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Engelhard
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Link
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Biron
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brandt
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brunet
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cordonnier
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Debusscher
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Laurenzi
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kolb
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002648:Child; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D015774:Ganciclovir / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000150:complications; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011658:Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous; D015774:Ganciclovir