Asymptomatic cytomegalovirus infection following blood transfusion in tumor surgery

Forty-one patients who underwent whole blood transfusion during aggressive surgical excision of solid tumors were followed up prospectively for evidence of active cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. Fourfold or greater elevation in complement-fixing antibody titers developed in 13 (32%) of the patients within 8 to 16 weeks after surgery. Cytomegalovirus was isolated from one of these patients. The incidence of antibody rise correlated best with volume of blood received, but it did not appear to be related to either the time of storage of transfused blood or the type of operative procedure performed. No clinical illness could be attributed to CMV infection in these patients.