title: Antigenemia for cytomegalovirus in renal transplantation: choosing a cutoff for the diagnosis criteria in cytomegalovirus disease.
abstract: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is a frequent complication in transplant recipients, causing a high level of morbidity and mortality. We studied 203 consecutive renal transplant recipients performed between January 2000 and December 2001. Patients underwent weekly measurements of CMV pp65 antigen to assess CMV activity from the 4th to the 12th week posttransplantation. The results were reported as number of cells positive for the pp65 antigen among 10(5) granulocytes. In order to define a best cutoff to diagnose CMV disease with desirable sensitivity and specificity, we used a receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve. The cutoff of four positive cells corresponded to a sensitivity of 93% and specificity of 60% (AUC = 0.87) for the diagnosis of CMV disease. The chosen cutoff for starting antiviral treatment was 10 cells, since this was associated with a sensitivity of 92% and specificity of 70% (AUC = 0.90). In conclusion, the highly sensitive cutoff points for the diagnosis of antigenemia was four cells and 10 cells for initiation of antiviral therapy.
authors.affiliation: Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. regina@santacasa.tche.br
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schröeder
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Michelon
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fagundes
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bortolotto
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lammerhirt
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bittar
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Keitel
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Saitovitch
mesh_terms: D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D016377:Organ Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000032:analysis; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000821:virology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D014766:Viremia / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins; C065418:cytomegalovirus matrix protein 65kDa