Seroconversion to human herpesvirus 6 following liver transplantation is a marker of cytomegalovirus disease

David H. Dockrell, Jose Prada, Mary F. Joncs, Robin Patel, Andrew D. Badley, William S. Harmsen, Duane M. Ilstrup, Russell H. Wiesner, Ruud A.F. Krom, Thomas F. Smith, Carlos V. Paya

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

106 Scopus citations

Abstract

Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infection is common after transplantation; HHV-6 is known to interact with other viruses and induce immunosuppression. Whether HHV-6 plays a role in the occurrence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection after transplantation was investigated. In a cohort of 247 liver transplant recipients, HHV-6 seroconversion was identified as a significant risk factor for development of symptomatic CMV infection (P < .001), including CMV organ involvement (P < .001), even in the presence of the other significant risk factors: D+/R- CMV serologic status (P < .001) or use of OKT3 after transplantation (P = .002). Subgroup analysis indicated that HHV- 6 seroconversion was significantly associated with symptomatic CMV infection in the D+/R+ but not in the D+/R- CMV serologic group (P < .001 and P = .11, respectively). These results indicate that HHV-6 seroconversion is a marker for CMV disease after transplantation and suggest that additional studies using more sensitive diagnostic techniques are warranted to determine the relationship between HHV-6 and CMV infection after transplantation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1135-1140
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Infectious Diseases
Volume176
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1997

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

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