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To determine the prevalence, associated findings, and consequences of cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigenemia in critically ill patients.

A retrospective, case-control clinical study.

A 12-bed university hospital medical-surgical ICU.

Two hundred thirty-seven patients with fever for > 72 h, without proven evidence of bacteriologic and/or fungal origin, and whose pp65 antigenemia assays were studied. Patients with HIV infection and transplant recipients were excluded.

None.

CMV antigenemia was diagnosed within 20 ± 12 days (mean ± SD) after ICU admission in 17% patients in whom the pathology was suspected. The 40 patients in the CMV group were matched with 40 other patients in the control group. CMV infection was linked to renal failure (58% vs 33%, respectively; p = 0.02) and steroid use (55% vs 33%, respectively; p = 0.04). Patients with …