Cytomegalovirus infection in immunosuppressed patients after kidney transplantation

The first kidney transplantation was performed in 1951 and ever since then living donor transplantation became a more and more important solution for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Renal transplantation is a life-saving procedure. Morbidity and mortality on waiting-lists are strongly correlated with the time of dialysis and end-stage renal disease is one of the most important causes of death; this is the reason why transplantation has to be performed as soon as possible in order to reduce the time of dialysis. Once the transplantation is performed, a number of complications may occur in post-transplant evolution, the most important of which is rejection. The rejection may appear through several mechanisms, but one of the most frequent causes of rejection is cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. It is very important to have a precocious and fast diagnosis of CMV infection in order to maintain the functionality and survival of the graft. PP65 CMV antigenemia has proven its effectiveness in detecting and monitoring the CMV infection in transplanted patients. In the laboratory of the Clinical Institute of Urology and Renal Transplantation (ICUTR) of Cluj Napoca the CMV infection is evidenced by two methods: PP65antigenemia and IgM antibody identification by chemiluminiscence.