Respiratory Tract Infections Due to Human Metapneumovirus in Immunocompromised Children

Chu, Helen Y.; Renaud, Christian; Ficken, Elle; Thomson, Blythe; Kuypers, Jane; Englund, Janet A.

Three patients (5%) died of respiratory failure related to hMPV pneumonia. Two of these deaths occurred in HSCT recipients who were diagnosed with hMPV prior to transplant (Figures 1 and 2B: Patients 2 and 3 ). One HSCT recipient had not engrafted at time of death, while the other engrafted the day prior to death. Both were treated with ribavirin and IVIG. The third death occurred in a patient with ALL and secondary acute myelogenous leukemia on salvage chemotherapy who did not receive hMPV-specific treatment ( Figure 2B: Patient 5) . HMPV was considered to be a contributing factor to her death, though the primary cause of death was thought to be progression of ALL. The median time to death was 37 days (range, 37-64 days).