Transfusion-related cytomegalovirus infection following noncardiac surgery.

Clinically evident cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections developed in five patients after noncardiac surgery. Each of them had received several blood transfusions and had evidence of primary CMV infection. These five cases were identified in a single eight-month period, suggesting that this syndrome must be occurring with greater frequency than is commonly appreciated. Three of five patients had undergone splenectomy, and review of the literature for documented cases of posttransfusion CMV mononucleosis following non-cardiac-bypass surgery disclosed an additional nine patients, five of whom had had splenectomies. This striking association suggests the possibility that the spleen plays a role in controlling the incidence or clinical manifestations of posttransfusion CMV infections. Alternatively, this association may only reflect the frequent requirement for many blood transfusions in this type of surgery.