title: Risk for retinitis in patients with AIDS can be assessed by quantitation of threshold levels of cytomegalovirus DNA burden in blood.
abstract: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a significant clinical problem. Seventy-five patients with CD4 T cell counts <100/mm3 were monitored prospectively every 2 months for CMV DNA burden. The target for DNA amplification was a 162-bp fragment from the CMV immediate early gene. CMV DNA burden, at levels of > or =320 in white blood cells or > or =32 in plasma (P = .001), particularly when sustained (P = .005 and .008, respectively), distinguished patients who developed retinitis from those who remained free of disease. Progression to retinitis was not consistently accompanied by increases in CMV burden, indicating that quantitation of CMV burden beyond threshold levels is not necessary to predict risk for development of retinitis. Virus isolation from WBC, but not urine, was also significantly associated with risk for retinitis (P = .001).
authors.affiliation: Center for AIDS Research at Stanford, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zipeto
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Wolitz
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dowling
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Efron
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Merigan
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D000328:Adult; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000150:complications*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D018628:Gene Dosage; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012173:Retinitis / Q000209:etiology*; D014766:Viremia / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral