Clinical Indications

Adenovirus is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in
the transplant setting, causing pneumonia, hemorrhagic cystitis,
hepatitis, encephalitis, pancreatitis, enteritis, and disseminated
disease with the mortality rate reaching 60% in some especially
high risk situations such as pediatric hematopoietic stem cell
transplantation. Since proper management is dependent upon early
diagnosis, quantitative adenovirus DNA PCR is useful for detecting
the virus, tracking the course of infection, and monitoring
response to treatment. Treatment of adenovirus in immunocompromised
patients presents challenges, including drug toxicity, delayed
onset of disease after discontinuing therapy, and emergence of
mutations that may affect the ability of diagnostic assays to
detect them efficiently.