Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Mar 25;13(1):89135.
doi: 10.5501/wjv.v13.i1.89135.

Cytomegalovirus infection in non-immunocompromised critically ill patients: A management perspective

Madhura Bhide  1 , Omender Singh  1 , Prashant Nasa  2 , Deven Juneja  3
Affiliations
Review

Cytomegalovirus infection in non-immunocompromised critically ill patients: A management perspective

Madhura Bhide et al. World J Virol. .

Abstract

Critically ill patients are a vulnerable group at high risk of developing secondary infections. High disease severity, prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stay, sepsis, and multiple drugs with immunosuppressive activity make these patients prone to immuneparesis and increase the risk of various opportunistic infections, including cytomegalovirus (CMV). CMV seroconversion has been reported in up to 33% of ICU patients, but its impact on patient outcomes remains a matter of debate. Even though there are guidelines regarding the management of CMV infection in immunosuppressive patients with human immunodeficiency virus/ acquired immuno deficiency syndrome, the need for treatment and therapeutic approaches in immunocompetent critically ill patients is still ambiguous. Even the diagnosis of CMV infection may be challenging in such patients due to non-specific symptoms and multiorgan involvement. Hence, a better understanding of the symptomatology, diagnostics, and treatment options may aid intensive care physicians in ensuring accurate diagnoses and instituting therapeutic interventions.

Keywords: Critically ill; Cytomegalovirus; Immunocompetent; Intensive care unit; Virus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.

References

    1. Kalil AC, Florescu DF. Prevalence and mortality associated with cytomegalovirus infection in nonimmunosuppressed patients in the intensive care unit. Crit Care Med. 2009;37:2350–2358. - PubMed
    1. Limaye AP, Kirby KA, Rubenfeld GD, Leisenring WM, Bulger EM, Neff MJ, Gibran NS, Huang ML, Santo Hayes TK, Corey L, Boeckh M. Cytomegalovirus reactivation in critically ill immunocompetent patients. JAMA. 2008;300:413–422. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Li X, Huang Y, Xu Z, Zhang R, Liu X, Li Y, Mao P. Cytomegalovirus infection and outcome in immunocompetent patients in the intensive care unit: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Infect Dis. 2018;18:289. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kothari A, Ramachandran VG, Gupta P. Cytomegalovirus infection in neonates following exchange transfusion. Indian J Pediatr. 2006;73:519–521. - PubMed
    1. Fowler K, Mucha J, Neumann M, Lewandowski W, Kaczanowska M, Grys M, Schmidt E, Natenshon A, Talarico C, Buck PO, Diaz-Decaro J. A systematic literature review of the global seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus: possible implications for treatment, screening, and vaccine development. BMC Public Health. 2022;22:1659. - PMC - PubMed