Abstract
The impact on morbidity and mortality of Community Acquired Respiratory Virus (CARV) infections in patients undergoing Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant (HCT) is widely studied. Here we give an overview of the current literature on the incidence and chance of progression to severe disease in this highly immune compromised population. We discuss the issue whether it is predominantly direct viral damage that causes clinical deterioration, or that it is in fact the allogeneic immuneresponse to the virus that is most important. This is an important question as it will guide therapeutic decision making. It asks for further collaborative studies focusing on sensitive surveillance with PCR techniques and relating clinical data with parameters of immune reconstitution.
Highlights
Community acquired respiratory virus infections (CARV) include a variety of viruses such as rhinovirus, coronavirus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza virus, Para influenza virus, and metapneumo virus
In a recent large prospective study, including 458 adults and children undergoing allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant (HCT), clinical outcomes associated with respiratory viruses (RV) detected prior to HCT were analyzed (Campbell et al, 2015)
Most studies describe data on symptomatic patients where Community Acquired Respiratory Virus (CARV) is detected at time of symptoms
Summary
Community acquired respiratory virus infections (CARV) include a variety of viruses such as rhinovirus, coronavirus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza virus, Para influenza virus, and metapneumo virus. Prevalence of CARV largely depends on season, detection mode, age of patient and immune status (Shah et al, 2012; Hirsch et al, 2013; Green, 2017). Influenza and RSV have significant seasonal variation, whereas Para influenza or rhinovirus cause disease year round (Green, 2017). In the immune compromised pediatric population the prevalence of CARV is around 50–80% (Fazekas et al, 2012) with mostly mild symptoms at time of detection. A large multicenter retrospective analysis in 1,560 pediatric HCT recipients showed an incidence of 16.6% symptomatic CARV infections within 1 year after transplant (Fisher et al, 2017). Surveillance studies in the same population on Nasopharyngeal Aspirates (NPA) routinely performed prior to transplant showed an incidence of 50% (Versluys et al, 2010)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
