Pretransplant pulmonary function predicts cytomegalovirus-associated interstitial pneumonia following bone marrow transplantation.

Study Objective: To determine the value of pulmonary function tests (PFTs) in predicting the development of human cytomegalovirus (CMV)-associated interstitial pneumonia (IP) in allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT) recipients.

Design: Nonrandomized, prospective, open-trial study.

Setting: Tertiary referral medical center.

Patients: 66 evaluable CMV-seropositive patients with hematologic malignancies who were undergoing allogeneic BMT.

Intervention: FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, TLC, Dcoc/VA, PaO2, and P(A-a)O2 were measured on days -13, +33, and +44 following BMT. CMV-IP was diagnosed when typical roentgenographic findings developed with confirmatory positive bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) using standard cytologic and/or rapid culture techniques.

Measurement And Main Results: Univariate logistic regression analysis to predict the development of CMV-IP revealed significant associations with the day -13 and +33 percent predicted FEV1, FVC, and TLC (p < 0.01) but no associations with other PFT parameters or with changes in these parameters. Stepwise logistic regression analysis demonstrated that only BAL positivity for CMV (odds ratio 14.8; p = 0.0002) and day -13 percent predicted FEV1 (odds ratio 0.92; p = 0.0004) were significant independent predictors of CMV-IP.

Conclusion: Pretransplant lung function is a previously unrecognized strong predictor and risk factor for the subsequent development of CMV-IP in BMT recipients.