Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is common and typically asymptomatic among healthy individuals, but it can be life-threatening in immunodeficient patients and preterm infants. CMV transmission occurs via multiple routes including congenital transfer and blood transfusions. Preventive measures to protect preterm infants vary by hospital. An observational pilot study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of a leukoreduction-only strategy compared to a previously published study of leukoreduction combined with CMV screening to prevent transfusion-transmission of CMV. Eight of 20 preterm infants in this cohort were transfused with leukoreduced blood, while 310 of 539 infants in a previously published study were transfused with leukoreduced, CMV-seronegative blood. Transfusion-transmission of CMV was not observed in either study, but transmission via breast milk occurred in about 12% of both cohorts. Results suggest that the leukoreduction alone may prevent transfusion-transmission of CMV, but further research is needed.
References:
- Delaney M, Mayock D, Knezevic A, Norby-Slycord C, Kleine E, Patel R, Easley K, Josephson C. Postnatal cytomegalovirus infection: a pilot comparative effectiveness study of transfusion safety using leukoreduced-only transfusion strategy. Transfusion. 2016. doi: 10.1111/trf.13605. PubMed PMID: 27080192.
- Strauss R. Optimal prevention of transfusion-transmitted cytomegalovirus (TTCMV) infection by modern leukocyte-reduction alone: CMV sero/antibody-negative donors needed for leukocyte products. Transfusion. 2016. Transfusion. 2016.doi: 10.1111/trf.13683. PubMed PMID: 27500914.
