Post-transplant monitoring of lymphocyte counts predict the occurrence of CMV DNAemia in early phase of kidney transplantation

Background: The aim of this study was to assess whether monitoring of the number of lymphocytes in peripheral blood was helpful for evaluating the risk of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection after kidney transplantation. Methods: The total numbers of lymphocyte in peripheral blood were measured at baseline and posttransplant months 1, 3 and 6. Risk factors for DNAemia in KTRs were analyzed using univariate logistic regression analyses. Areas under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were applied to assess the accuracy of lymphocyte counts for predicting CMV DNAemia. Results: After follow-up 6 months, CMV replication was detected in 12 (31.6%) kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). The total lymphocyte counts were significantly decreased in KTRs with CMV DNAemia in 1, 3 and 6 months. There was a negative correlation between CMV copies and the lymphocyte counts in 1, 3 and 6 months post-transplantation, and the decrease of lymphocyte counts in the 6 months post-transplantation was the risk factor of CMV DNAemia in the KTR. Patients with lymphocyte counts 1.085×10 9 cells/L had higher cumulative incidence of CMV DNAemia. Conclusions: The lymphocyte counts post kidney transplantation may be used as a simple and effective indicator for monitoring the CMV DNAemia status in KTR and for predicting the risk of CMV DNAemia.