European guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of adenovirus infection in leukemia and stem cell transplantation: summary of ECIL-4 (2011)

Human adenovirus (HAdV) infections are increasingly recognized as important pathogens in immunocompromised hosts, especially in patients with severely suppressed T-cell function. The 4th European Conference of Infections in Leukemia (ECIL-4) has developed evidence-based guidelines for diagnosis and management of HAdV infections. The risk for HAdV-associated disease is increased in children, and risk factors for HAdV disease are T-cell depletion, unrelated and cord blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, graft-versus-host disease grades IIIIV, and lymphopenia. The recommended technique for monitoring of high-risk patients is quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Cidofovir is the most used antiviral therapy, although no controlled study has been performed. HAdV-specific T-cell therapy is in development.