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Background

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in renal transplant recipients (RTR) impacts morbidity, mortality, and graft survival. Patients are risk-stratified based on their CMV serostatus as low risk (D-/R-), moderate risk (R+), and high risk (D+/R-). Most transplant centers conduct surveillance for CMV reactivation using quantitative nucleic acid testing (qNAT) at regular intervals for a fixed duration after transplantation. Antiviral treatment decisions are often guided by quantitative DNAemia. We hypothesize that the change in the qNAT platform to a newer, more sensitive assay lead to earlier CMV detection, longer antiviral treatment durations, and no difference in one-year all-cause mortality in moderate and high CMV risk RTR.

Methods

We conducted a cohort study comparing RTRs monitored with the historical higher lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) qNAT (quantifies viral loads> 300 IU/mL) to the newer lower LLOQ …