Renal allograft dysfunction associated with cytomegalovirus infection

Renal transplant recipients are at an increased risk for cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, which occurs as a primary infection or as a result of reactivation of a latent virus. The main risk factors for symptomatic CMV disease include a CMV-negative recipient of a kidney from a CMV-positive donor (primary infection) and treatment of rejection with monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies. In this study, we report a renal transplant recipient with multiple risk factors for the development of CMV infection. He developed three episodes of CMV disease; the first was associated with gastrointestinal tract involvement, and the second episode was diagnosed according to surveillance laboratory test results in the absence of symptoms. The third episode was associated with acute allograft dysfunction. The renal transplant biopsy specimen showed viral inclusions without acute rejection or glomerular abnormality. Despite the absence of morphological injury on biopsy, treatment of CMV with ganciclovir was accompanied by an improvement in renal function. Further studies are needed to establish the mechanism of allograft dysfunction in the absence of inflammatory changes.