Multicenter Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of a Preventive Strategy Against Cytomegalovirus Infection in Heart Transplant Patients Based on the Specific T Cells Response

Purpose: The prevention of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in transplant patients is currently based exclusively on the presence of antibodies against CMV of the receptor and the donor. Despite universal prophylaxis or preemptive therapy, the rate of infection or CMV disease remains high and has a negative clinical impact. Monitoring CMV-specific cell-mediated immunity (CMI) in kidney transplantation is useful in predicting CMV risk infection.This study aims to demonstrate that a preventive strategy against CMV infection in seropositive heart transplant adult patients, based on the specific T cell response, measured by IFN-γ ELISPOT assay, is effective and safe, compared to universal prophylaxis.