Virus World

Updated clinical practice guidelines prepared by the European Conference on Infections in Leukemia recommend the use of letermovir for the prevention of cytomegalovirus in adults undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant, or HSCT. The guidance was published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
“Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is one of the most common opportunistic infections that affects the outcome of adult patients undergoing stem cell transplant,” Rafael de la Camara, MD,  from the department of hematology at the Hospital de la Princesa in Madrid, told Infectious Disease News. “It is also an important cause of morbidity and mortality in these patients. This updated guideline provides evidence-based and expert recommendations for screening, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of CMV in this population that will inform the management of CMV now and in the future. The FDA approved letermovir in 2017 for CMV prophylaxis in patients who have undergone HSCT. CMV is common, with more than 50% of U.S. adults having been infected by age 40, according to the CDC. It is a common complication in HSCT patients.

From 2000 to 2015, the proportion of patients who underwent HSCT who were aged 60 years or older tripled, from less than 10% in 2000 to 2006, to around 30% in 2015, according to the researchers. This resulted in an increased number of patients who were CMV seropositive undergoing HSCT over the same period, they wrote.”