Herpes simplex virus shedding in bone marrow transplant recipients during low-dose oral acyclovir prohylaxis

A 400mg dose twice-a-day oral acyclovir prophylaxis regimen was evaluated in 50 allogenic transplant recipients. Twenty (40 percent) patients experienced 24 episodes of herpes simplex virus (HSV) shedding; 17 (70.8 percent) occurring during prophylaxis. Thirteen of such episodes were asymptomatic and, in three, it was difficult to differentiate severe mucositis from viral lesions. In the remaining one, HSV pneumonia was suspected after a bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) procedure performed in an attempt to early detection of cytomegalovirus (CMV). All cases responded to acyclovir therapy or dose adjustment suggesting that acyclovir resistance did not account for the occurrence of infection in our patients. These data demonstrated that oral acyclovir prophylaxis, 400mg dose twice-a-day, was inadequate to suppress viral shedding. The bronchoalveolar lavage procedure in a patient with HSV shedding could precipitate HSV spread to the lungs and the occurrence of pneumonia.

Cytomegalovirus infection in a day-care center in the municipality of São Paulo

The prevalence of antibodies against cytomegalovirus (CMV) and the incidence of CMV infection were tested in 98 children aged 5 to 36 months who attended the day-care center of a University hospital in São Paulo. At the beginning of the study the overall prevalence of anti-CMV IgG antibodies was 44 (43/98). Saliva and/or urine samples were obtained from 38 of the 43 children that were seropositive at the beginning of the study for isolation of the virus, and 52.6 of these children were found to excrete CMV in one of the two materials. Among the 37 children that were initially seronegative from whom it was possible to obtain a new blood sample 6 to 12 months later, 22 (59.5) presented seroconversion. The rate of viral excretion through urine or saliva from the children that seroconverted was 50. These results indicate that CMV infection is frequent and occurs early among the children who attend this day-care center. However, controlled studies using molecular epidemiology techniques are needed to define more precisely the role of day-care centers in CMV dissemination.

Cytomegalovirus and other herpesviruses infections in heart and bone marrow transplant recipients

De janeiro de 1988 a janeiro de 1989 todos os pacients submetidos a transplante de coraçiao de medula óssea no Instituto do Coraçäo do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Siao Paulo foram estudados quanto à incidência e morbidade das infecçöes pós-transplante causadas por vírus do grupo herpes. Cinco recipientes de medula óssea e 5 transplantados cardíacos foram observados por um período médio de 4.2 meses após o transplante. Todos os pacientes tinham sorologia positiva para citomegalovírus (CMV) antes do transplantee 80% desenvolveram uma ou mais recorrências durante o período de observaçäo. Dos 12 episódios de infecçäo por CMV detectados neste estudo, 83% foram acompanhados por alteraçöes clínicas ou laboratoriais. Apenas um caso apresentou doença grave. A incidência de infecçöes causadas por vírus Herpes simplex (HSV) fossem reprsentadas por lesöes orais ou genitais, houve também umcaso de hepatite por HSV. Um dos 6 episódios de infecçäo, por HSV. Um dos 6 episódios de infecçäo, por HSV que foram tratados com aciclovir näo respondeu ao tratamento. Posteriormente, o paciente se beneficiou com o uso de ganciclovir. Todos os indivíduos apresentavam antes do transplante anticorpos anti-vírus da varicela zoster. Porém, näo houve nenhum caso de reativaçäo. Este estudo realça a importância do cocntrole diagnóstico ativo da infeccöes por herpes-vírus em pacientes transplantados. Tanto as infecçöes causadas por CMV como por HSV mostraram alta incidência e grande mortalidade indicando a necessidade de quimioprofilaxia