HSV for tumour lysis

To view some of the files in this section, you will require a version of Adobe Acrobat. This is free to download and is available on the Adobe Acrobat website.

To view the PowerPoint presentations you will require Microsoft PowerPoint. You can download the latest PowerPoint viewer free from the Microsoft website.

You are welcome to download, view and use many of the slides contained in these presentations, however the original presenter and IHMF^Ž must be suitably acknowledged for any use, for example in oral presentations or written material. Please also be aware that some slides contain graphs, illustrations or other content that may not be the copyright of the presenter or the IHMF^Ž and permission ot use such material will need to be obtained from the copyright owner prior to use. Some of the slide presentations from the 13th IHMF^Ž Annual Meeting are subject to 'restricted use' and the presentations to which this applies are labelled with the notice 'Restricted Use - please contact the presenter prior to any use of the content of this presentation'. These 'restricted use' presentations may only be viewed online or downloaded to view, and the original presenter must be contacted prior to any use.

If you are in any doubt about your use of this material, please contact the IHMF Secretariat.

Clinical importance of respiratory HSV infections in ICU patients

Presented by M Ieven, Laboratory of Microbiology, University Hospital Antwerp, Belgium.

Background: Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is very rarely detected in the lower respiratory tract of intensive care patients, and the clinical significance of its isolation from respiratory tract specimens remains unclear. We therefore conducted a prospective cohort study to define the prevalence, origin, risk factors and clinical significance of HSV in the respiratory tract of critical care patients.

Methods: During a 20-month period, 764 patients admitted to our multidisciplinary 30-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU for at least 3 days) were examined for the presence of HSV in the respiratory tract, and results were compared with the clinical data.

Results: HSV appeared in the upper respiratory tract of 169 (22%) patients within 10 days for 89% of the admissions. The virus was isolated in 58 (16%) of the 361 patients who had their lower respiratory tract sampled. The presence of HSV in the throat in the absence of clinical signs was a highly significant (P<0ˇ001) risk factor for the development of HSV lower respiratory tract infections. HSV could be isolated most frequently in patients with severe disease upon ICU admission, as shown by higher APACHE II and SOFA scores. There was a significant association between HSV in the throat and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (P<0ˇ001). Patients with HSV in the upper respiratory tract had a longer ICU stay compared with those without throat infection with the virus (P=0ˇ015).

Conclusions: HSV reactivation/infection in the throat is a major risk factor for the development of lower respiratory tract infection with this virus. The ICU length of stay of patients with HSV activity was significantly longer than with patients without HSV in the respiratory tract, even when correction for disease severity was performed.

View PowerPoint Slide Presentation
PowerPoint Slide Presentation

Download PowerPoint Slide Presentation
Please complete the questionnaire and press the start download button. Your responses will be used by the site maintainers only, to improve the site, and will not be distributed elsewhere. All responses are anonymous and you will not be contacted as a result of submitting the questionnaire.

1.	What is your interest in herpes?
	Physician Other healthcare professional (e.g. nurse, pharmacist, etc) Student in health-related field Person with a herpesvirus infection Friend/loved one of a person with a herpesvirus infection General interest

2.	If you are a 'health professional', please select the most appropriate description of yourself from each of the following two lists.
	What is your occupation? What is your speciality?

The IHMFŽ is a registered trademark of PAREXEL MMS

Last Updated : 14/04/2004 09:47:50