The effect of donor-recipient cytomegalovirus serology on adult liver transplantation: a single center experience.

Introduction: We investigated the outcomes of adult liver transplants, according to their donor-recipient cytomegalovirus (CMV) serology.

Materials And Methods: We included in the study all adult primary liver transplants, from January 1, 2002, to December 31, 2005. Follow-up was until December 31, 2007. According to the donor-recipient CMV serology, patients were divided into positive-negative (PN), positive-positive, negative-negative, and negative-positive groups, and all received CMV prophylaxis for 4 months posttransplantation. Hepatitis C patients received conventional immunosuppression, whereas all other patients received either conventional treatment or alemtuzumab (Campath-1H) induction.

Results: We studied 438 adult liver transplants. Comparisons were made between high-risk group patients (PN) versus all others: 5-year patient survival was 74.31% vs. 78.8%, (P=NS) and graft survival 63.87% vs. 74.77%, (P=0.042). Five-year freedom from rejection was 42.84% vs. 51.95% (P=0.036). CMV infection (n=3) or disease (n=27) was observed in 30 patients (PN [n=23], positive-positive [n=6], and negative-positive [n=1]). Incidence of CMV infection was 9.8% overall and 34.84% and 2.5%, respectively, for the PN group versus all others (P=0.0000). Patients who received Campath-1H induction did not have an increased incidence of CMV infections compared with those who received conventional immunosuppression.

Conclusions: In our center, in adult liver transplantation, CMV donor-recipient PN serology is associated with rejection, graft survival, and CMV infection but is not correlated with patient survival, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) occurrence, or viral hepatitis recurrence. The introduction of more potent induction immunosuppression did not accentuate these negative outcomes.