title: Foscarnet--an alternative for cytomegalovirus prophylaxis after allogeneic stem cell transplantation?
abstract: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease is a serious complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Early detection of the disease by antigenemia testing and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) along with pre-emptive antiviral therapy has been shown to be very effective in decreasing the incidence of CMV. We performed an uncontrolled observational study in 21 patients after HSCT (14 related, 7 unrelated donors) to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of foscarnet administered as prophylaxis for CMV reactivation. Ten patients received bone marrow, and eleven patients received peripheral blood stem cells. All patients received foscarnet prophylaxis to study side effects, incidence of CMV reactivation, CMV disease, and transplant-related mortality. Foscarnet (90 mg/kg) was given every 12 h, day +11 to day +16. Thereafter, foscarnet (90 mg/kg) was given once per day, three times per week until day +60. The incidence of CMV reactivation detected by antigenemia (pp65 antigen) or PCR was 23.8% (5 of 21 patients). Two patients developed CMV disease and one patient died of CMV-pneumonia. Seventeen patients (81%) reported severe side effects, such as gastrointestinal disturbance, headache, and urethritis. In eight patients (38%), the dose of foscarnet had to be reduced and, in six patients (28.5%), foscarnet application was discontinued because of side effects. Compared with other groups, we believe that the potential benefit of foscarnet administration in this early setting is outweighed by the risks of severe toxicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine I, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus at the Technical University of Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ordemann
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Naumann
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Geissler
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kroschinsky
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bornhäuser
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schwerdtfeger
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ehninger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D017245:Foscarnet / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use* / Q000633:toxicity; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D017245:Foscarnet