Impact of donor and recipient cytomegalovirus serology on long-term survival of heart transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: Some studies have shown that pre-transplant cytomegalovirus (CMV) serostatus is associated with heart transplant patient survival while others have not. We analyzed the relationship between pre-transplant donor/recipient CMV serostatus and long-term mortality in a retrospective cohort of heart transplant recipients at our center.

METHODS: Adult (Age >17 years) heart recipients transplanted between July 1985-December 2015 were analyzed. Variables included age, sex, pre-transplant donor (D)/recipient (R) serostatus [D-/R-, D-/R+, D+/R+, D+/R-], CMV infection within 2 years of transplant and transplant eras divided by changes in CMV prevention strategies: Era 1 (Pre-ganciclovir, July 1985-April 1998), Era 2 (Oral ganciclovir, May 1998-December 2004), Era 3 (Valganciclovir, January 2005-December 2015). Survival analysis and Cox regression were performed at 10 years.

RESULTS: A total of 620 heart transplants were included in our analysis; 20% were CMV mismatched pre-transplant. Thirty-eight percent of patients were infected with CMV within the first two post-transplant years. Survival analysis showed D/R CMV serostatus did not significantly impact survival of heart recipients at 10 years (P = 0.11). Survival was significantly different across eras for D-/R+, D+/R+, and D+/R+ (P = 0.043) but not D-/R- patients (P = 0.8). Cox regression revealed that patients transplanted in the valganciclovir era have an estimated 29% reduced risk of death (P = 0.047) compared to patients transplanted in the pre-ganciclovir era after controlling for age at transplantation, D/R CMV serostatus and CMV infection.

CONCLUSION: Our review of the impact of CMV managed differently across eras suggests in heart transplantation there is no influence of D/R CMV serostatus on 10 year survival.