TY  - JOUR
T1  - Antiviral Treatment Duration and Relapse Risk in Gastrointestinal Cytomegalovirus Disease: A Retrospective Cohort Study
A1  - Robert S. Klein
A1  - Lucia F. Romano
A1  - Tesfaye M. Bekele
JF  - Bulletin of Pioneering Researches of Medical and Clinical Science
JO  - Bull Pioneer Res Med Clin Sci
SN  - 3006-2659
Y1  - 2025
VL  - 5
IS  - 1
DO  - 10.51847/OsqOAkAAaX
SP  - 182
EP  - 188
N2  - This study examined whether the length of antiviral therapy is associated with relapse in patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease, with particular attention to identifying factors that predispose patients to recurrence. Patients diagnosed with GI CMV disease at a tertiary care center between January 2008 and April 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Relapse was defined as a confirmed recurrence of GI CMV disease occurring at least four weeks after completion of the initial course of antiviral therapy.

A total of 238 patients were included, comprising 145 (51.9%) cases of upper GI involvement and 93 (48.1%) cases of lower GI involvement. Among these patients, 27 (11.3%) experienced disease relapse. The median duration of antiviral treatment did not differ significantly between patients with relapse and those without relapse (21.0 vs 17.0 days, P = .13). Multivariate analysis identified hematologic malignancy (odds ratio, 3.73; P = .026) and ulcerative colitis (odds ratio, 4.61; P = .003) as independent predictors of relapse. Based on these findings, patients were categorized into high-risk (presence of at least one risk factor; relapse rate, 25.9%) and low-risk groups (no identified risk factors; relapse rate, 6.7%). Using this classification, 180 patients (75.6%) were assigned to the low-risk group and 58 patients (24.4%) to the high-risk group. Antiviral treatment duration was not associated with a significant difference in relapse rates within either risk category. Overall, relapse occurred in approximately one-tenth of patients following antiviral therapy, with hematologic malignancy and ulcerative colitis emerging as significant risk factors. These findings suggest that extending the duration of antiviral treatment may not effectively reduce the risk of relapse in GI CMV disease.
UR  - https://bprmcs.com/article/antiviral-treatment-duration-and-relapse-risk-in-gastrointestinal-cytomegalovirus-disease-a-retrosp-zfpbaqjcvjieq0l
ER  -