Abstract
Background
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is associated with increased mortality in PWH. It is less clear whether CMV infection is still associated with mortality when routinely screened and adequately treated.
Methods
This retrospective cohort study recruited 1003 hospitalized HIV-infected adults with CD4 cell counts of less than 200 cells/μL from 2017-2021. Blood CMV DNA was routinely measured and CMV DNAemia was treated if end-organ disease occurre d. CMV viral load was categorized into below the limit of quantification (BLQ; < 500 IU/mL), low viral load (LVL; 500-10000 IU/mL), and high viral load (HVL; ≥ 10000 IU/mL) groups. We compared the 182-day all-cause mortalities among different groups.
Results
The median CD4 cell count of the patients was 33 cells/μL (IQR, 13-84). The prevalence of CMV DNAemia was 39.8% (95%CI, 36.7%-42.9%) and was significantly associated with CD4 cell count. The 182-day all-cause mortality was 9.9% (95%CI, 8.0%-11.7%). Univariable analysis showed that, compared to BLQ, LVL and HVL were associated with 1.73-fold and 3.81-fold increased risks of mortality, respectively (
P = 0.032 and
P < 0.001). After adjustment for pre-defined confounding factors, HVL but not LVL was still associated increased risk of mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 2.63; 95%CI, 1.61-4.29;
P < 0.001). However, for patients on effective anti-retroviral therapy, the impact of HVL on 182-day mortality was not statistically significant (
P = 0.713).
Conclusions
High CMV viral load in hospitalized PWH was associated with higher mortality, even when early identified by screening. Optimalization of the management for those patients needs to be explored in future studies.
