title: Low-dose valganciclovir as preemptive therapy for cytomegalovirus infection occurring in allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients.
abstract: Few data are available to date on the dose of oral valganciclovir as cytomegalovirus (CMV) preemptive therapy in stem cell transplantation patients. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of low-dose valganciclovir (900 mg/day) as preemptive treatment in allotransplanted recipients. Valganciclovir was used in 34 patients who underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation for hematological malignancies at the dose of 900 mg oral administration/day (12 patients, group 1) or 1,800 mg oral administration/day (22 patients, group 2). Thirty-two out of 34 patients (94%) obtained negativization of polymerase chain reaction for CMV at a median of 12.5 days from the beginning of valganciclovir administration (10/12 patients of group 1, 22/22 patients of group 2). We conclude that oral administration of valganciclovir can induce clearance of CMV viral load in about 2 weeks; moreover, lower-dose oral valganciclovir (900 mg/day) has a comparable efficacy to the proposed standard dose (1,800 mg/day).
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy. mariangelapalladino@tiscali.it
authors.forename: Mariangela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Palladino
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Laurenti
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chiusolo
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Piccioni
authors.forename: Idanna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Innocenti
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tarnani
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sorà
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sica
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Leone
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003587:Cytomegalovirus; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D015774:Ganciclovir / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000628:therapy* / Q000821:virology; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D000077562:Valganciclovir; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D000077562:Valganciclovir; D015774:Ganciclovir