Few studies have examined cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation exclusively in immunocompetent patients with sepsis due to bloodstream infections. In a cohort of CMV-seropositive critically ill otherwise non-immunosuppressed patients with sepsis due to bloodstream infection, weekly testing for CMV viraemia was performed. Outcomes were assessed at 30 days or until death/discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU). CMV viraemia developed in 20% (20/100) of the patients. Age (P=0.044) and blood transfusions (P=0.022) were significantly associated with CMV viraemia. There was no difference in the primary endpoint (mortality and/or multi-organ failure) between patients with and without CMV viraemia (P=0.49). However, CMV viraemia was associated with significantly fewer ICU-free days (P=0.023) and fewer ventilator-free days (P=0.031). Patients hospitalised in the ICU for more than 48 hours prior to the onset of bloodstream infection were more likely to develop CMV viraemia (P=0.006), have high-grade viraemia (P=0.010), and fewer ICU-free days (P=0.018) and ventilator-free days (P=0.029) than those admitted within 48 hours of bloodstream infection. Thus, CMV reactivation was associated with fewer ICU- and ventilator-free days, however overall mortality was not affected. Patients already in the ICU at the onset of sepsis had higher risk of CMV reactivation and worse outcomes than new ICU-bound patients suggesting that a targeted approach for interventions for CMV could conceivably be directed towards those with a more protracted course of illness.
Keywords: cytomegalovirus, infection, sepsis, bloodstream infection, ICU.