CMV Intensive Care Units

A Prospective Monitoring Study of Cytomegalovirus Infection in Immunocompetent Critical Heart Surgery Patients

Prospectively assessment of CMV viremia by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in a broad cohort of consecutive immunocompetent adults admitted to a major heart surgery intensive care unit (MHS-ICU) with the goal of determining the epidemiology, risk factors, and clinical significance of CMV infection.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Agreeing to participate in the study
• Age of at least 18 years
• Admission to the MHS-ICU for at least 72 hours

Exclusion Criteria:

• Inability to give informed consent
• Age younger than 18 years
• AIDS
• Pregnancy
• Organ or bone marrow transplant, receipt of immunosuppressive therapy including corticosteroids within 30 days, and cancer or hematologic malignancy treated with radiotherapy or chemotherapy