Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of Pediatric Patients with CMV DNA Detection in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid

Introduction: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection can cause severe pulmonary disease in immunocompromised patients. There are no standard diagnostic criteria for CMV pulmonary disease beyond histopathology findings on lung tissue, which is challenging to obtain in pediatric patients. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid is easier to obtain. Since CMV remains latent after primary infection and can potentially reactivate due to any inflammatory response, CMV detection in BAL specimen may not indicate acute CMV pulmonary disease. Thus, we describe the clinical manifestations and outcomes of pediatric patients with CMV detection in BAL fluid. Methods: We reviewed the clinical, radiologic, and laboratory data of patients <19 years old with a BAL specimen positive for CMV during a 5-year period. Results: Thirty-four encounters in 29 patients were found with CMV detected in their BAL specimen. Half (17/34) of the encounters were in immunocompromised patients. CMV, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was the most common positive test. Forty-seven percent of the patients had other infections detected in BAL specimens. The majority of patients were never treated for CMV and resolved their acute respiratory illness. Only one patient had probable CMV pulmonary disease. Discussion: CMV is frequently recovered from BAL specimens but does not usually indicate acute CMV pulmonary disease. We would suggest that other diagnoses be considered first, even if CMV is recovered. (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.