Renal transplant patients vaccinated against influenza responded with antibody production for influenza A virus strains, but not for influenza B. Use of MMF and shorter time from transplantation decreased the immune response to the vaccine.

Summary:The incidence, treatment and outcome of CMV interstitial pneumonia (CMV-IP) were reviewed in 139 consecutive allogeneic BMT patients undergoing extended CMV antigenemia surveillance and two different ganciclovir (GCV) strategies to control CMV infection. Nineteen cases of CMV-IP were reviewed, 16 of 63 patients (25.4%) who received early GCV treatment (ET) and three of 76 patients (3.9%) who received preemptive (PE) GCV therapy. In the ET group, the median time for occurrence of CMV-IP was 55 (range 36 to 311) days. Two patients had three episodes of CMV-IP recurrences after day +100. CMV-IP-related death occurred in two patients (15.4%). In the PE group, 41 patients received pre-emptive GCV therapy prompted by the appearance of positive antigenemia у2 cells. The median time for the occurrence of CMV-IP was 92 (range 48 to 197) days. Response to therapy was observed when GCV was introduced within 6 days of antigenemia positivity. The use of IVIg in association with GCV did not play a major role in response to therapy. The median time for occurrence of CMV-IP was delayed during PE strategy and the cost-effectiveness of CMV surveillance after day +100 should be investigated in this population. Bone Marrow Transplantation (2000) 26, 413-417. Keywords: CMV; pneumonia; BMT; antigenemia; extended surveillance; IVIgIn the early eighties, cytomegalovirus interstitial pneumonia (CMV-IP) was considered a major infectious problem after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) because mortality rates higher than 80% were observed even after the introduction of ganciclovir (GCV), the first antiviral with good in vitro and in vivo activity against cytomegalovirus. 1 More recently, the development of new techniques such as the CMV antigenemia (AG) assay and PCR have significantly contributed to the earlier diagnosis of active